Just A Change Of Scene
by Broken Resistance
Summary: *FINISHED*An old friend of Spot and Jack's shows back up in New York after being gone for around 8 years. They couldn't be happier to see her, until they learn the real reason she's back. (R&R!!)
1. Welcome to New York

Slick Rylan walked silently down the empty streets, keeping to the dark shadows just in case anyone else happened to be watching her, it felt good to be back in New York City, even if she was just on the fringes. Slipping unseen across a couple of bridges Sick found herself once again in Brooklyn, it had been eight years since she had last seen these streets, but she still remembered ever little hiding spot and alleyway. Turning in to one, she grabbed a fire escape ladder and pulled herself up, making her way to the roof of the building. Tucking herself in a corner, Slick fell asleep remembering the faces of the friends she hoped to meet up with again.  
  
The next morning dawned bright and clear and Slick was aroused by the voices of the Brooklyn Newsies selling their papes in the streets, she moved to the edge of the building and looked into the streets below. The city was already awake and racing off towards a new day, "G'mornin Brooklyn" Slick said quietly, smiling to herself.  
  
Slick slid down the escape ladder back into the alley, she stopped and glanced at her reflection a half-busted out window facing into the alley gave her. The person staring back at her should have looked like a fully figured young woman, but instead, it looked all the world like a tall, skinny, teenage boy. With a dirty gray long sleeve shirt and black pants hanging loosely on the body, a black cowboy hat hanging loosely around the neck, and brown hair, which also needed a washing, cut so it just hung below the cheekbones, which were evident beneath the skin. The only outstanding features were the almost silver eyes that looked back at her, or at least they were silver now, they would turn a stormy gray if she got angry. "Nah Slick, you look nottin like a goil righ now." She said to the figure in the glass. Slick had been living on the streets of big cities for as long as she could remember, and food had always been scarce, so the feminine beauty and curves that should have been present, weren't. She glared at the glass for awhile and the figure continued to glare back, it's eyes slowly getting darker, then deciding she needed to get going if she was going to find her old friends before evening set in. Slick slipped out of the alley and into the crowded, noisy Brooklyn streets, pulling on her hat as she did, so as to shade her face.  
  
A few Newsies looked at her hard as she passed, but all she had to do was glare at them and they'd quickly go about their business. Slick wandered the streets of Brooklyn all day, getting even more familiar with them, she had also hoped to find Spot Conlon and Cowboy Sullivan wandering the streets together selling their papes, like they used to, eight years ago. But evening was setting in and she decided to head to the Brooklyn Newsies' Boarding House to try and find her friends, she turned to go down a side street when a tall guy stepped out in front of her from a near by alley.  
  
"Where da ya tink youse goin?" He sneered at her, taking her to be just another guy. Light from the setting sun was casting it self across his face and Slick recognized him as a Brooklyn Newsie she'd seen on the streets earlier that day. "You a Brooky Newsie?" she asked just to make sure.  
  
"Whad it to ya?"  
  
"Whose the leada round here now?" Slick countered.  
  
"Ain't none youse business" he said glaring at the kid in front of him now.  
  
With out any warning Slick let out a right hook into the guy's face, he fell back a couple of feet before taking a knife out of a sheath at his side. But Slick had just came from Chicago, she had her own knife. Pulling it out of her sheath, she flipped it expertly in the air and caught it again, and faced her opponent, who suddenly cracked a grin. "Youse ain't bad kid, da names Shiner" He said sheathing his knife and spitting in his right hand before he held it out to Slick.  
  
Slick looked at him for a second before grinning too, and doing the same.  
  
He looked at her, "Youse ain't gonna tell me ya name?" he said shaking her hand.  
  
She didn't answer that question, but instead asked another, "So who is the leada of da Brooky Newsies now a days?"  
  
"Spot Conlon"  
  
Slick did a quick double take, before looking at Shiner again "Spot?" she said again just to be sure.  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"Nottin." Slick smirked, so Spot's finally the leada of the Brookys she thought to herself before turning her attention back to Shiner, "Would Spot be back at da Boarding House yet?" she asked.  
  
"I dunno, prolly not, whad it to ya?"  
  
"I needa talk ta 'im, take me ta ya hang out."  
  
"And if I don't wanna?"  
  
"Den I'll soak ya ta ya does." Slick said dangerously getting right in Shiner's face, ready to punch him again.  
  
Shiner took a step back from Slick, knowing that this kid would soak him, he moved a hand up to his face were he could already feel the black eye that this kid had given him a few minutes ago starting to come through. But he also thought of the other side, he knew Spot was busy training some new kids from other parts of New York to fight, and wouldn't take to kindly to being interrupted. Yet. he really didn't feel like testing this kid who seemed to know how to fight with a knife. "Alright I'll take ya ta Spot, but if he don't wanna see ya or he soaks ya, it ain't my problem k?" Shiner finally conceded. Slick just raised an eyebrow and didn't answer, just followed as Shiner set off at a jog down the streets of Brooklyn.  
  
The two reached a place on the river within a few minutes, there were a few boys crowded in groups here and there, and as they passed Slick got a few hard glances. She didn't see any sign of Spot though, and apparently neither did Shiner, because he stopped soon enough and called out, "Hey Flash! Is Spot round here?"  
  
A tall boy not far from where they were standing looked up at Shiner and Slick and called back, "Nah, I tink he's back at da House."  
  
Slick didn't hesitate, she knew where the Boarding House was, and she turned on her heel and began jogging back through the streets. It took her a second to notice that someone was following her, glancing over her shoulder she saw Shiner right behind her, he sped up seeing that Slick knew he was there.  
  
"Ya know where it at?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah." Shiner gave a nod and continued running beside Slick.  
  
Slick almost made a couple of wrong turns but Shiner quickly made sure to guide her in the right direction and they reached to door to the Brooklyn Newsie Boarding House soon enough. Shiner was a few paces behind Slick as they ran up the steps, he reached out and grabbed her shirt and pulled her back just as Slick was about to open the door. Slick turned to him as soon as she had her balance back again,  
  
"Whaddid ya do dat for?" she cried.  
  
"Nobody sees Spot unless he wanta seem 'em. Sos just hang on, an we'll go find 'im, but stay behind me" Shiner explained, as he pulled open the door for himself and walked in with Slick right behind him. "Any body knows where Spot is?" He asked the boys lounging around inside, a few glanced up curiously at Shiner and Slick but no one really answered and they all went back to doing whatever they had been doing when the two had entered, except for a kid coming down the stairs to their right.  
  
"Yeah, 'e's up on da roof, trainin some rookies how da soak." The kid said as he passed Slick and Shiner,  
  
"An he might not wanna 'ave visitors righ now. Jus sos ya know." Slick glanced at Shiner to see what he was going to do, before taking off up the stairs, she didn't care if Spot was busy, she wanted to see her old friend, and figured he'd get over it once he saw who it was that had interrupted his lesson. Behind her she heard Shiner sigh before he followed her once again. At the top of the stairs Slick made a turn into the first room on her right, the first bunkroom which was lined on either side with bunk beds. A few kids were sitting in them and glanced up at Slick's appearance, but she made no notice of them as she continued walking towards the window on the other side.  
  
Once again Shiner grabbed her and pulled her back before she reached the window she was going to climb out. "You've been 'ere afore 'aven't ya?" He asked studying her. Slick made no comment as she looked back at Shiner, he sighed before trying again, "Ya sure ya wanna see Spot?" he tried looking into the kid's eyes but they were shaded by the black cowboy hat he didn't seem to want to take off.  
  
Slick just looked at him a moment before answering coolly, "Yeah I wanna see Spot, sos ya gonna go tell 'im I'm 'ere or I'm I jus gonna 'afta go up dere myself?"  
  
"I'll go see if he wanna see ya, don't know if 'e will though." And with that Shiner slipped out of the window and used the fire escape to climb to the roof. *** "Block 'im already Lefty!" Spot Conlon yelled at one of the Newsie kids that he was attempting to teach how to fight. He was about to yell at the other kid, Grime, when one of his Newsies hopped on to the roof and walked over to him. "Alright youse two, take a break." Spot told the two kids before turning his attention to Shiner, "Heya Shiner, looks like ya got yaself anodder one." He said grinning at Shiner's blacking eye.  
  
"Yeah, dis kid I met en da street gave it ta me an said he wanted ta meet ya, seemed ta know ya." Shiner explained.  
  
"Really, what 'es name?" Spot asked  
  
"Dunno 'e wouldn't tell me"  
  
*** Slick was impatient by nature so when Shiner slipped through the window out onto the fire escape, she ran back out to the hall and went in the bunkroom on the left. A window was at the end of this one too, and Slick knew a fire escape was also outside of it that would lead her to the roof. So slipping soundlessly out and up Slick arrived on the roof, covered in shadow, a few feet away from Spot Conlon's sitting figure just as she heard Spot ask, "what 'es name?" Slick grinned she got up right behind him, still covered in shadow and said clearly, "Slick". Both Spot and Shiner jumped a foot, and Slick started laughing, but stopped when Spot turned to her, a dark look in his eyes, showing he wasn't amused. *** After getting over his initial surprise, Spot turned to the kid standing behind him, the name, Slick, struck a chord, but he was unwilling to believe it was his old friend, at least at first. Spot looked over the figure before, him, it was slightly taller and thinner than he was, but there was a shocking familiarity in it. And even though he couldn't see the face clearly, he some how knew it would hold those captivating silver eyes, and the rest of the familiar smirk he could see emerging.  
  
"Hiya Spot." Slick said quietly, looking him over as he did the same to her. She was still taller than him, which didn't surprise her, but he'd grown. She smiled as she saw his ever-present gold-capped cane at his side.  
  
"Hiya Slick." Spot answered, fully recognizing his old friend now. A nervous shuffling of feet sounded from behind Spot and he turned back again to Shiner, Lefty and Grime he looked at them for a second and then glanced back at Slick. "Hey youse guys get outta 'ere an go back in, an tell every one else ta lemme alone k?"  
  
"Uh.. ok Spot." Shiner answered before herding Lefty and Grime back towards the fire escape and finally disappearing himself back inside the Boarding House.  
  
Spot turned back to Slick, and grinned, then spitting in his hand he stuck it out to meet Slick's own. They shook and a grinning Slick gave him a quick hug, before backing away in case he decided to slug her. But he didn't instead Spot walked and sat down, and Slick followed  
  
A few minutes passed in companionable silence before Slick said quietly, "I missed ya Spot." The truth in the statement overwhelmed her for a moment.  
  
"I missed ya too Slick." He said before turning to face her, "Where ya been?"  
  
Slick gave a small smile, "Chicago. Well lately anyways." She said not wanting to really talk about the place she just left. "But look at you, you're da leada of the Brooklyn Newsies now."  
  
Spot grinned, "Yeah I guess I am. So ya been in Chicago lately, but ya 'ave been gone for 'round eight 'ears now."  
  
"Well 'afore dat ya name a place I've probably seen it. Oh, I Cowboy would be jealous, I spent 'round a month in Santa Fe! Where is 'e anyways?" Slick asked, suddenly remembering she hadn't heard a word about him all day.  
  
"Jacky-boy? I reckon 'e's in Manhattan, were else would 'e be?"  
  
"Wait! 'Jacky-boy'? Manhattan? What 'ave I missed?!"  
  
Spot looked at her in some surprise, then remembering she had been gone for eight years, and a lot had happened. "Yeah, Jacky-boy, or Jack Kelly, dat's 'is name now."  
  
"What 'appened to Cowboy? Or Cowboy Sullivan?" Slick interrupted.  
  
"Would ya quit interrupdin me?"  
  
"Yeah sorry."  
  
"Sos as I was sayin, 'es name is Jack Kelly now, 'e still goes by Cowboy, 'cause dat'll always be 'es nickname, but it ain't no longer Sullivan. See soon afta ya left, 'e an I didn't get along sa good wit out ya, sos he left an moved inta Manhattan." Spot went on to explain that Cowboy had been arrested in Manhattan and taken to the House of Refuge, and that when he escaped he changed his name to Jack Kelly. And that Jack went on to become the leader of the Manhattan Newsies. "Did Chicago eva 'ear 'bout da Newsie Strike?" he asked.  
  
Slick grinned, "'O 'course! Youse guys started somethin big when ya started dat."  
  
"Yeah well Jacky-boy was practically da leada of da thing. 'O 'course I was a parta it too." Spot said with pride in his voice.  
  
"You guys seem ta still be best friends."  
  
Spot looked at her, "Yeah 'o 'course we are. Why shouldn't we?"  
  
Slick sighed, "I dunno, it jus seems weird that yur here and 'e's there."  
  
He laughed, "We're both leada's Slick, and if 'e were 'ere it wouldn't work, two leadas don't go good in one territory."  
  
"Yeah I guess ya're right." Slick smiled she knew that statement was truer than Spot could possibly know,  
  
"I miss 'im too though."  
  
"So go visit 'im tamarra in Manhattan. Give 'im a surprise."  
  
Slick suddenly grinned wickedly, "I will."  
  
Spot looked at her sharply, "What ya plannin ta do?"  
  
She pushed back her cowboy hat and her silver eyes danced with mischief as she simply said, "Stalk 'im."  
  
Spot looked at her for a moment thinking she'd gone crazy, "You gonna go stalk Cowboy? Da ya even know Manhattan?" His words earned him a raised eyebrow and that look that he couldn't explain in words but knew all too well, it was Slick's Look, it could be mocking or challenging you or just a look. But it was Slick's Look. Spot shook his head slightly, he knew remembered there was no stopping Slick Rylan when she was on a mission. "Jus don't get too lost out dere Slick."  
  
"I won't, yur forgettin yur talkin to Slick 'ere Spot."  
  
"Nah, I 'member ya got a mind all ya own, an a slick tongue that if me memory serves me right, likes ta get ya in trouble."  
  
Slick grinned, "Dat's one a da reasons I got stuck wid dis nickname." The two friends continued talking about random things for the next hour.  
  
They had been quiet for the past few minutes and Spot turned to Slick and was about to ask her more about Chicago, since she had pretty much brushed of the subject before, when he noticed she had fallen asleep lying on her stomach. He smiled as he watched her sleep, something had definitely changed in Slick since he last saw her, her spirit was still there, but she seemed more reserved, her eyes held a distant mistrust, often lost in thought while they had been talking. It seemed to Spot that she had experienced something that had caused her soul to harden somewhat. Shrugging it off he stood up, and looked down on Slick's sleeping figure, trying to decide if he should leave her out here or try and carry her back into the bunkroom in the dark, the latter didn't seem very appealing to him, and he didn't want to leave her out here by herself. So the Brooklyn leader lowered himself back to the ground and fell asleep next to his friend under New York's open sky. 


	2. The Stalker, The Stalked and other Run-I...

Chapter 2-The Stalker and The Stalked and other Run-Ins  
  
Morning came all too early for Slick, who was rudely awakened by all the noise the Brooklyn Newsies were making in the building below. Slick slowly got to her feet and took a look around, she was still on the roof of the Brooklyn Newsie's Boarding House, glancing towards the fire escape she caught a glimpse of Spot as he descended and crawled back inside. Grinning, she followed.  
  
Pulling herself back into the Brooklyn House Slick was immediately knocked back onto a bunk the front of her shirt in the tight grasp of a Brooklyn Newsie, and his face inches from hers looking menacing. "Whaddaya think yer doin'?"  
  
Slick just raised an eyebrow and looked back at him. A second latter a voice yelled from across the bunkroom, "Laz! Get offa Slick now!" Slick grinned when a pale Laz let her get up and turned to face Spot.  
  
"I's sorry Spot, I thought 'e was a invader." Laz apologized quickly to the Brooklyn leader.  
  
This all caused Slick to grin more, seeing how the big Newsie was afraid of Spot who was at least 6 inches shorter than him. "Ya ok Slick?" Spot asked still looking at Laz.  
  
"Yeah, no harm done." Slick answered turning and walking towards the washroom. But despite her calm outward appearance, Laz had awaken old memories and she was shaking inside. Slick walked over to a tub of water and proceeded to splash water over her face in attempt to wake her up more.  
  
"'Ey! Outta my way." A voice grumbled from behind Slick, turning she found herself face to face with a black-eyed, grumpy looking Shiner trying to push past her.  
  
The opportunity was too good for even Slick to pass by, "Wow Shiner, who gave ya that one? Looks like it coulda hurt." Slick tried to pass her voice as innocent while trying to make her face the same way. Needless to say it was a challenge considering she was anything but.  
  
Shiner looked the kid in front of him in the eye and recognized the smart- ass kid who had given him his namesake the night before, he swore at her and pushed her out of his way.  
  
An all too familiar smirk snuck back onto Slick's face, "Now Shiner is that any way to treat a guest in yer midst?" she asked in a parenting tone.  
  
Shiner turned around and swung his arm in a right hook, missing his target that had ducked, seeing the move coming.  
  
"Slick! Quit harassin' my Newsies!" Spot yelled from the doorway. All he received in response was a passing smirk as Slick walked by him and headed for the stairs. Knowing where she was headed all he called to her was, "Don't get yerself lost!"  
  
******  
  
Don't get myself lost huh? Slick Rylan don't get lost very easily Slick thought to herself as she headed out into the bright Brooklyn sunshine and made her way towards the Brooklyn Bridge, and on her way toward Manhattan.  
  
*****  
  
It had been a slow selling day for Jack Kelly, there wasn't even many good headlines to 'improve'. And so Jack had been slowly wandering the streets selling a pape here and there, but slower than usual for him. But he kept walking instead of standing on one selling spot. He had this suspicious feeling that he was being watched every where he went, and to tell the truth he didn't appreciate it much. Hearing a slight thump in an alley off to his left he went over and peered in, at first he didn't see anything hiding in the dark alley and was about to turn away when a small sound caught his attention. It sounded like the movement of a foot against the dirt, "Alright! Whose in dere?! Come out an fight, I's sick a havin' somebodys stalk me!" No answer. Hearing his name being called somewhere else, Jack sighed and turned away, only to see the glint of something he would have swore as eyes out of the corner of his eye, he snapped his head around. Nothing. Sighing once again he turned and walked back into the crowded street selling a pape as he did.  
  
********  
  
It took all of Slick's will power and control not to start laughing at Jack's apprehension. Though having people be nervous and uneasy at being silently followed by her struck her as some what amusing sometimes, the scene of her hiding in the alley was all to familiar and ironic, and it sent an unwelcome shudder up her spine. Slipping out into the street again Slick discreetly made her way to the other side and into another alley, but this one, unlike the last connected the street in front of her to another one behind her. She stood unmoving in the shadows looking out into the busy Manhattan street, hoping to get an idea of were Jack had gone.  
  
Slick was so absorbed in her task that she didn't hear anyone come up behind her until a hand clapped down on her shoulder. All muscles went stiff and her eyes wide in all of a half second and before she could control it, she spun around and at the same time swinging her right arm. She felt her fist connect with flesh and a pain shoot up her arm at the impact, the person behind her was shorter than her and had green eyes that was all she noticed before he stumbled backwards and tripped over a few boxes and went sprawling to the ground. "Cowboy?" Slick jumped at the voice to her left, and with a quick glance she saw that this kid had an eye patch over his left eye, and that was all she noticed about him before spinning around and tearing down the street. Old fear taking over all senses.  
  
******  
  
Kid Blink looked from the figure running full out down the street back to his friend lying stunned against a building wall, "Uh, Race? I don' think that was Jack."  
  
Racetrack glared at his friend, he hand still at his eye where the kid had landed his punch. They had been looking for Jack, and when they'd passed this particular alley from the other side of the street they had saw standing at the other end, a tall figure with a cowboy hat. Race had figured it was Jack but when he'd put his hand on the bony shoulder, he'd felt all the muscles stiffen and the next thing he knew he had a fist coming towards his face. He'd only caught a glint of silver eyes before tripping and falling to the position he was in now. He slowly recalled the look in those strange eyes, they were full of fear, so full that they left no room for any other emotion to possibly show through. He'd meant to say something but the fist had hit his face before he'd had the chance. "Yeah no kidding Blink. Now 'elp me up wouldya." Race said grumply, his hand still on his eye, I's gonna 'ave one 'ell ofa shiner.  
  
"Shoa." Blink reached out to grab Race's other hand and haul him to his feet. Still confused by the look of sheer terror he'd seen in the split second those silver eyes had turned to him.  
  
*********  
  
Slick ran full out for about a mile before turning into another alley and collapsing against a wall behind a dumpster. Fear was still coursing headstrong through her shaking body, as she pulled her knees up to her chest and took several deep breaths in attempt to get the stitch out of her side. She felt bad for punching the short kid like she did, but he'd brought back way too many memories that she'd attempted to bury within her. Slick also knew that neither kid had meant to spook her like they did and she almost smiled at the memory of the wide eyes staring at her. But her amusement was quickly washed away as she shut her own eyes tightly trying to block out every memory of.that night. 


	3. Results

************  
  
Chapter 3-Results  
  
"I'm tellin' ya Spot, I's bein' followed!" Jack paused to look across the table he was sharing with Spot inside Tibby's. Spot was doing his best not to smirk at jack's paranoia, "What?! Don' ya believe me?" Jack asked seeing a small smirk creep onto Spot's face.  
  
"Wha'? Oh, yeah I believe ya Jack. Anyone ya know got a grudge against ya?" Spot asked off handedly trying his best to look like he had no idea what his friend was talking about.  
  
"I dunno." Jack started, but before he could go further the door to Tibby's swung open and the rest of the Manhattan Newsies piled in for lunch. Blink and Race were the first ones in, flanked closely by Mush, Snitch, Itey, and Skittery. The latter three headed off to find a separate table, while Blink, Mush, and a black-eyed Race walked over to join Jack and Spot's table. "Uh.Race, where didja get da shiner?" Jack's train of thought dropped as soon as he saw the black-eye Race came in sporting.  
  
Race didn't respond as he slid into the booth next to Jack. Blink and Mush slid in beside Spot. "We was in dis alley and we saw dis kid at the odder end. We thought it was you Jack. An' Race went ova an' put 'is hand on da kid's shoulder. It musta scared 'im real bad 'cause 'e whipped around wit a great right 'ook." Blink took it upon himself to explain, earning a glare from Race at his last sentence.  
  
It was Spot who was most interested in Blink's explanation, "Ya said ya thought da kid looked like Jack? How so?"  
  
Race was the first to speak up, "'e was tall, 'ad black pants an' a gray shirt. Da hair was a lil' long I guess but it was 'ard ta tell 'cause 'e had a black cowboy hat jus' like Cowboys' on. An' it was da weirdest thing, da kid 'ad silver eyes. I saw 'em as 'e whipped 'round an' gave me dis." He said, lightly touching his black eye. Blink just sat there nodding in agreement. "It looked like 'e was da one dat was scared, I don' think I's eva seen someone dat scared."  
  
Spot's eyebrows were in his hair, he recognized the kid Race had described, how could he not? He had seen her only earlier that morning.  
  
"What'sa matta Spot? Ya recognize da person dat slugged Race?" Jack asked seeing the raised eyebrows and surprised look on his friend's face. When Spot didn't answer, he shrugged and went on to tell the three other boys about being stalked, he was in the middle of telling the story when Spot suddenly got up, hopped on the table, walked to it's end, jumped off and headed out the door. The four of them sat there in slight shock for a moment before Jack continued.  
  
*****  
  
Slick had forced herself to get up and move out of the alley she had hidden herself in, thinking it would be best to get back to the Brooklyn Lodging House roof before the sun set. Every one of her limbs shook with the effort of getting up and walking, whether it was from the still present fear or the exhaustion she felt, she couldn't be sure. But the fear was still at the front of her mind. She had never been scared of anything until she had went to Chicago and gotten involved with some pretty heavy stuff. Yes, Chicago had definitely left an imprint of fear. She could still remember every sickening detail of that night, the screams piercing the darkness, the blood flowing every where; the feeling of total hopelessness, a feeling Slick had never experienced until that night.  
  
Moving silently and discreetly Slick quickly made her way back to Brooklyn, glancing over her shoulder every few seconds, to be sure she wasn't being followed. When she had finally reached the roof of the Lodging House, Slick just collapsed, lying on her back, she felt the sun's rays slowly calm her and relax her stiff and tight muscles.  
  
*******  
  
Spot was making his way back to Brooklyn at a leisurely pace, thinking about the day's events. He knew for a fact that Jack Kelly's stalker was Slick Rylan, she had told him that that was what she had been planning on doing that day, and he found Jack's paranoia slightly amusing considering he knew who was behind it. But the run-in with Race and Blink made him wonder what was up with her, he knew it was Slick that the two boys had met up with in the alley and gave Race a rather large black eye. Race had described her just the way he'd seen her earlier that morning. And he honestly couldn't think of anyone else having silver eyes, it was unique to say the least. But what really troubled him was when Race had said he'd seen fear in her eyes, that he'd 'neva seen anyone dat scared'. It was just a tap on the shoulder right? Or what was she hiding? He'd seen uneasiness in her eyes the night before, something had happened to her in the last eight years, something big, he had a feeling about it. But he also had a feeling she'd never tell, she wasn't a person to come out and share her feelings, come to think of it, not many orphans or runaways were, it was just something not many felt comfortable in sharing.  
  
He was still in thought as he reached his Lodging house when Lefty's twin, Righty, ran out to him, "Spot! Dere is some kid, sleepin' on our roof!" Spot had to smirk at the kid's enthusiasm, and his obvious pride at being the first to let the almighty Spot know there was an intruder asleep on their roof. "Me an' Lefty were up dere an' we's were playin' wit our swords, an' we saw dis kid, an' 'e was sleepin, jus' layin' on OUR roof! We's jus' tawt ya'd like ta know Spot."  
  
"Thanks Righty, I'll go an' hava look, at da kid." Spot ruffled the kid's wavy hair as he passed him and made his way around the side of the building and to the fire escape. He already knew with out a doubt who would be laying there.  
  
Spot's boots made a barely audible 'thud' as they hit the cement, but it was enough, "One woulda thought the great Spot Conlon woulda taught 'is kids ta be quieter when dere is a stranger on da roof."  
  
"Yeah, well like ya said, dey're jus' kids. Kids wantin' ta have some fun, in a life where it's 'ard ta get by." Spot said walking over to where Slick lay stretched out still enjoying the late afternoon sun, and sitting down next to her. "'Ow's it goin' Slick?"  
  
"Why da ya ask?" Slick asked, opening her eyes and looking up into the New York City sky.  
  
"I dunno, but I saw some a yer handy work on Race dis aftanoon. An' Jack, was a lil' paranoid." Slick rolled over onto her side and gave Spot a confused look in response to his first sentence. "The guy ya so delicately rammed yer fist inta in the alley." He clarified sarcastically.  
  
"Oh. Dat short Italian guy?"  
  
"Yeah 'is name is Racetrack, Race fer short, da kid wid 'im was Kid Blink, or jus' Blink."  
  
"Oh." Slick said once again, rolling back over onto her back.  
  
"Wasa matta Slick? Why didja hit 'em in da first place? I's not sayin 'e don't desoive it once in awhile, but what 'appened?" Spot had a feeling he wasn't going to get a straight answer, and he was right.  
  
"He surprised me, that's all."  
  
Spot looked hard at Slick, for a moment her voice had lost it's New York accent, and adapted another, one that didn't use so many broken words, the words were spoken coldly, as if that was the end of the matter and that was it. He let his gaze wander to her physical appearance, and saw dirty cloths in need of a change, and dirty skin and hair in need of a good wash. "Hey Slick, you wanna get cleaned up? Maybe take a shower an' change those cloths a yers? I think Shiner's jus' yer size, if ya wanna wear some a his."  
  
Slick turned and looked at him in surprise, but then smiled, a shower would feel good, she felt sooo dirty. "Yeah that would be nice Spot, thanks."  
  
That other accent again. "Alright, ya can use the washroom in da otha bunkroom, sos ya wont be distoibed." He said while getting to his feet causing Slick to do the same, as he led the way back into the empty bunkroom on the other side of the building.  
  
*********  
  
Slick stepped out of the shower a few minutes later, a towel wrapped snuggly around her. Seeing a fresh pair of cloths on the floor, she grabbed them and retreated back into the stall to change.  
  
Stepping out, Slick examined herself in the mirror, the shower had done wonders to her reflection. She actually looked somewhat like a girl now, not counting the black pants and gray shirt she had on again. Slick didn't notice the appearance of someone else in the room until his reflection was beside hers.  
  
"Well, well, well, so Slick Rylan is actually still a girl. Sorry ta tell ya, but I had my doubts." Slick glared at Spot's cocky grinning reflection, which only caused him to laugh.  
  
"Yeah, I am still a girl, what's it to ya?"  
  
"Where didja get that accent Slick?"  
  
Slick looked up sharply, and turned to face Spot himself, rather than the reflection. "What accent?" She asked casually slipping back into her New York one.  
  
"Dat accent ya were jus' talkin' in. It ain't from 'round here, sos I wanted ta know where it was from. An' I wanna know where ya got dis." Spot said coolly holding up a silver dagger  
  
A hard look suddenly clouded up Slick's face, "Where did you get that?" Her knowingly let her voice slip into her Chicago accent, it was the other accent she knew Spot was talking about, and to go with it she made her voice icy, showing not outward emotion.  
  
Before Spot could answer the rest of the Brooklyn Newsie force was beginning to pile into the Lodging House, and Spot's name could be heard being yelled from down the hall. Looking from Slick to the door, he finally turned to the door to see to his other newsies.  
  
"Spot."  
  
That word stopped him in his tracks, turning half way around, he looked at Slick, she was holding her hand out expectantly. He looked down to the silver dagger he still had in his hand, and then without warning he threw it, straight at Slick. She caught it without the slightest trouble, flipped it and stuck it in the boot she'd just been tying. Spot just looked at her caught between shock and frustration.  
  
"SPOT!!!" a voice called from the hallway.  
  
"Yeah I's commin'!!" He yelled back, with a final backward glance at Slick, who was still standing there, cool, and emotionless, Spot turned and walked out of the washroom, leaving her to stare at his retreating back.  
  
******* 


	4. The Stalker Returns

Authors Note: Thank you to all the people who HAVE reviewed I appreciate it. And to the rest of you people out there, read and review PLEASE!!! I am really looking for feedback here! Now I'm not the type of person to beg, I'm more the type of person ta beat you up 'til you review, but I'll restrain myself if you review NOW!!! :::Smiles sweetly, and goes back to typing story::: ;-)  
  
  
  
******  
  
Chapter 4-The Stalker Returns  
  
The minute Spot had left the room, Slick spun around to the mirror again, breathing hard. It took a couple minutes for Slick to regain her self- control, she couldn't believe she had let herself slip so much that day, 'what were ya thinkin' commin' back Slick? Yer jus' gonna be trouble'. Picking up her hat that sat on the sink next to her, Slick reached inside and pulled out a folded black bandanna, on one side was a unique design painted in blood, a hieroglyphic symbol of a bird with a flame surrounding it. She traced the bird and flame with a finger, remembering when whenever that sign was seen carved on living flesh or into a pole or side of a building respect and fear was shown. Smiling ironically, Slick put the bandanna on, it's symbol side down, covering her dark blonde hair and keeping it out of her silver eyes. Her worries about causing trouble were wiped away, as she stared at herself in the mirror, once again she looked like the Chicago girl that had been respected and feared by all but a slim few. Still smiling to herself, Slick turned and walked out of the washroom and to the open window in the empty bunkroom that would again lead her to the roof and out into the freedom New York had to offer a troublemaker.  
  
Jumping to the ground from the last rungs of the escape ladder, Slick looked around, she was free in this city she realized, there wasn't anyone who could stop her. Grinning, she retraced her steps back to the Brooklyn Bridge and finally back into Manhattan by late nightfall. Making her way swiftly to the nearest roof, Slick curled up and promptly fell asleep.  
  
*******  
  
Spot stalked into the other bunkroom, filled with his own newsies, his thoughts currently occupied with Slick. Or they were until he saw what had been so urgent. He stood gaping at two of his younger newsies laying in bunks covered in blood and bruises. "Gawd, what happened now?" Spot's voice was even despite his surprise and anger.  
  
"Dey was beat up." A voice timidly stated from the crowd.  
  
"I can see dat." Spot snapped, "now who done it?" No answer. Spot's notorious temper was rising, it was rare to see any Brooklyn Newsie beaten like this, Brooklyn was known for it's tough fighters, no matter how young they were. He walked slowly over to stand between the two bunks containing the two figures, Grime and Mic. "Get 'em cleaned up." Spot ordered before retreating from the room back to the one he'd left Slick standing in.  
  
Gone. He knew it shouldn't surprise him that she'd left without a word, he was still fuming, sitting on one of the bunks in the spare room, so many things had happened the last few days. He was angry, and frustrated, not a good combination for Mr. I-have-a-bad-temper Spot Conlon. Standing up suddenly, Spot let out a curse that would have caused any mother to faint in dead shock, before he smashed his fist into the unyielding wall. "Oy, dat was stupid." (A/N: Spot WILL survive, him hitting the wall just seemed to work, so all you Spot fan's I'm sorry, I love the guy too!)  
  
***********  
  
**BACK AT TIBBY'S**  
  
When Jack had finished re-counting his tale of being stalked that afternoon, four Manhattan Newsies decided there was definitely a new kid in town that they needed to meet. (A/N: rocket scientists aren't they?)  
  
"Spot seemed ta know who ya were talkin' about Race, maybe we should go see 'im an' try an' get some answers." Mush piped up. Race nodded his agreement.  
  
"Spot won' tell us nothin' 'less 'e wants ta. And it didn' look like 'e had any information 'e wanted to share with us." Jack reasoned, knowing the his friend worked.  
  
"True. Whaddaya say we jus' wait 'til tamarra? We can figure stuff out then. Anyways, I'm tired an' wanna get back, we havin' pokah game tanight?" Blink asked the other three, who merely shrugged. Blink rolled his one good eye, put some money down on the table to pay for his measly meal and headed for the door, noticing his friends do the same.  
  
The day was well on it's way towards an end by the time all the Manhattan Newsies were back at their Lodging House and had a good poker game started. Most of the day's previous events had been laid aside, except for a quick explanation here and there as to Race's newly accommodated black eye. The Manhattaners were more laid back than those from Brooklyn, they weren't as tough and as respected either, but it really didn't bother them, they had their own lives to live, and most of the time they enjoyed them.  
  
*******  
  
Slick Rylan made sure she was at the Manhattan Distribution Office early the next morning before any of the Newsies arrived. This wasn't stalking, she was actually waiting for Jack and his Newsies to arrive so she could have a word with them, or with Jack anyway. Slipping into a corner, Slick made herself as invisible as possible, hiding in the shadows, leaning casually against the outer wall. It wasn't her style to just stand out in the open waiting, she liked the feeling of seeing, but not being seen. 'Where are those damn boys? (A/N: oh! First swear word! That's why this story got it's rating, well that and...uh.other things that will happen) Does it honestly take 'em a century ta get here in the mornin'?' Slick thought annoyed. But no sooner than she had thought it, boys of all ages started pouring into the D.O. for the morning addition of the World.  
  
*******  
  
As usual Jack Kelly was the first one in the D.O. followed closely by his fellow newsies with the addition of David and Les. But soon after entering Jack felt unwelcome eyes watching his back, he brushed it off though after a few backward glances, and headed to where Mr. "Weasel" was stationed, waiting for the daily demands. "Da usual." He said curtly slamming his 50 cents down, not even bothering to "pruse da merchandise" The rest of the daily orders went about in the usual manner.  
  
"Hey Jack what's the matter? You keep looking around as though you expect someone to jump out at you."  
  
Jack visibly jumped and looked over his shoulder guiltily at David. "Uh, it's nothin'. I's jus' a lil' jumpy." Jack suddenly cut himself off, there, over in the corner, in shadow. A tall figure stood there, leaning casually against the wall. "Hey Blink, Race, come 'er a sec." The two mentioned made there way over to stand by Jack and looked in the direction he was indicating, "Do ya see that kid ova there? I think it's me stalkah, I got da feelin' I was bein' watched again, an' I looked ova there an' that kid ain't moved, an' 'es lookin' ova here at us, or me." Race and Blink nodded their agreement that the kid seemed to be watching their every movement. "Whaddaya say we go met my stalkah?" Three faces grinned, while David remained totally clueless, but followed his friends to where the figure stood, waiting.  
  
"Ah so my stalkah returns an' actually shows 'imself. But do 'e care ta introduce 'imself before we soak 'im?" Jack asked casually to Dave, Race and Blink, all the while glaring at the still shadow hidden figure.  
  
"Introductions, introductions, so formal. Personally I don' think we need 'em, I know you and you know me, so why waste valuable time?" The shadow answered calmly.  
  
Jack glared, that voice was mocking him, and he really didn't appreciate it, and who did this kid think he was? Jack sure had no idea who it was. "I think yer mistaken, cause whoeva ya are, I ain't neva met ya before, ya might know who I is, but I soah as 'ell don' know who you are. But why are ya hiding back dere? Come forward, sos I can soak ya good for followin me!"  
  
"Geez, yer manners ain't improved any. An' I'm hurt Sullivan that ya don' 'member me."  
  
Jack started at the name Sullivan, he hadn't been called that or known by that in a LONG time. An unwelcome shiver ran up his back, the voice was undeniably familiar, he just couldn't place it. "Da names Kelly now, Jack Kelly." He responded almost automatically, ignoring the insult, and just concentrating on the voice.  
  
"Ah that's right, Spot informed me a that, guess it jus' slipped my mind. Yer still Cowboy though ain't ya? An' still dreamin' o' that ranch a yers down in Santa Fe? Gorgeous place San'a Fe."  
  
Blink looked back and forth between his friend and the shadow, this kid really seemed to know Jack (no pun intended).  
  
"Wait a sec. Didja say Spot? Ya know the weasel?" Race butted in suddenly. The head of the shadow suddenly snapped towards him, and he could almost see the smirk emerging on the face.  
  
"Yeah, I know 'im we was good friends, me, Cowboy, an' Spot."  
  
Jack's thoughts were still racing, he knew he knew that voice, and the owner of it seemed to know him, and Spot. But that voice, it was so calm, so slick, so cool, and almost provocative and mocking. Slick, that word rang a bell, or rather a train whistle, as his thoughts screeched to a sudden halt. Slick, that was it. "Slick? Slick Rylan?" Even to his own ears Jack thought his voice sounded incredulous (not that he would know that word ;-) )  
  
The shadow stepped into the light and took a bow, "The one and only. How's it goin' Cowboy?" The grin on Slick's face was wild, obviously pleased with herself. Jack just stood and gaped, shocked to say the least to see his old childhood partner in crime standing before him eight years later. "That's all ya gotta say ta me? Geez, yer manners really ain't improved any." Slick said still grinning.  
  
The other boys that had gathered around took in the sight of the newcomer with slight surprise, to them it looked like at tall, gangly, skinny teenage boy, with too long of hair for their own taste, and the bandanna covering it was new to them as well. Sure Jack wore one, but his stayed around his neck while this kid had 'his' covering 'his' hair. (A/N: just to make this more interesting later, all Newsies w/ the exception of Jack and Spot think Slick is a guy)  
  
Snapping out of his shock, Jack took a hesitant step towards Slick, she met it by wrapping her arms around him in a hug. Stepping back, Jack held her shoulders and looked her up and down, "Man Slick, youse changed."  
  
"Not as much as you Jacky-Boy. Callin' ya Jack is gonna take some getting use ta, ya understand doncha?" Slick said looking at Jack seriously for a second.  
  
Jack looked at her and grinned, "Yeah, jus' lay off callin' me Sullivan, da bulls are prolly still afta' me an' know me by dat name. Ok?" Slick grinned and nodded.  
  
"Ahhhhem." Jack turned around quickly, most of the other newsies had scattered, figuring they'd see the new kid later, and right now they had a living to earn. But those who hadn't moved included Blink, the 'ahhhhemer' (Race), and David.  
  
"Oh, sorry guys, uh, Slick, I'd like ya ta meet some a me guys, dat dere is Kid Blink, who wes jus' call Blink, Racetrack, we jus' call 'im Race fer short, and dis is Dave, da Walkin' Mouth. Guys dis is an old friend a mine, Slick Rylan. Race studied Slick, 'he' looked oddly familiar to him.  
  
Slick noticed the short Italian kid with the heavy black eye studying her rather hard. 'Wait. Sort Italian kid. Black eye...' Slick's face went slightly pink with embarrassment. "Oh gawd! I's really sorry 'bout that black eye, Race is it?"  
  
Race had finally recognized the kid in front of him as 'he'd' said that, Blink had too, it was the kid from the alley, the one with the stunning silver eyes, that they could both see now as they turned towards them. Jack looked between the three and suddenly cracked up laughing. "An' what is so funny?" Race asked coolly trying to keep up a calm outward appearance.  
  
"I jus' 'membered that Slick hadda killah right 'ook. Gave everyone a black eye, free o' charge, Spot an' I occasionally get one if we didn' watch what we'd say!" Jack managed to get out while laughing, and backing away from a aggressive, still embarrassed Slick.  
  
"Arg, we gotta be goin' Jack if wes wanna get all dese papes sold a'fore lunch." Blink said suddenly glancing at the street.  
  
"Yeah Blink, youse right, common guys, Slick, how 'bout ya keep us company?" Jack invited, as he turned and started walking out into the streets.  
  
"Shoah, not like I's got anythin' betta ta do." Slick agreed her New York accent being overly dominant.  
  
"So Slick, why did you give Race that black eye?" Dave asked falling into step beside her.  
  
A brief look of almost panic shone on Slick's face. "Uh, he scared me."  
  
"Race scared you Slick? I don' 'member youse eva bein' afraid a somethin'" Jack looked around Dave to look at Slick curiously.  
  
"Well, things have happened in the last few years. One hasta be more careful, especially in big cities." No matter how hard she tried Slick could not repress a shudder.  
  
"I didn' mean ta scare ya. I was gonna say somethin', but ya got me too quick." Race interjected sulkily.  
  
An ironic smile slid onto Slick's face, "Yeah I know ya didn' but I's had some trouble in big cities. An' just a warnin' for ya if ya eva go ta Chicago or somethin', don't do that ta someone, 'specially in an alley, youse prolly end up with lots worse den a black eye. Lucky fer you my dagger was in my boot, or you couldda been toast." Three and a half pairs of eyes looked at Slick shocked, only to see a dead serious look on her face. Race gulped rather loudly, and Slick smirked, "Didn' mean ta scare ya, but I am serious, don't go 'round doin that."  
  
"We'll keep dat in mind." Jack said quickly, eager to get onto a different subject. "So, ya wanna sell with one a us? I'm shoah ya can still 'improve' da headlines withoutta problem?" He turned to grin at her, knowing she was good at talking her way out of or into things, whichever her current situation called for.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure I can still 'member howta do it, it's been awhile though, jus' ta tell ya all ahead a time, sos I don' get blamed if ya don' have the besta luck." Slick answered easily.  
  
Blink grinned, "Ya can sell with me Slick."  
  
"Alright, we meet back at Tibby's when wes all done, so da two a ya met us dere k? An' Slick, try not ta get in ta too much trouble k?" Jack looked at his grinning friend.  
  
"Okay Jacky-boy, not too much, I'll do my best!"  
  
Blink shook his head as he was quickly pulled away by an eager Slick, "Jus' relax, we ain't ina race ya know."  
  
Slick just smirked and pulled a paper out from under his arm, to search for a good headline to improve. Her gaze caught on one, 'Fishing Industry and Government Pleased With Doubled Amounts of Fish Being Caught.' "MURDER OF INNOCENTS GOES UP BY THOUSANDS!!! GOVERNMENT IN NO HURRY TO PUT AN END TO IT!!!" Within seconds Blink and Slick were bombarded by flocks of people wanting to read the 'improved' article. "Come on Blink, we don' wanna be here when they read da real headline." Slick whispered fiercely, pulling Blink away after over half of his papes had been sold by the 'improved headline'. The two took off running for a different section of town to finish their paper selling.  
  
"Wow Slick, youse gotta come with me more often, yer good at dis!" Blink exclaimed when his papers were sold out by only the third yelled out headline.  
  
"What can I say? I's gifted."  
  
*******  
  
***TIBBY'S***  
  
"Dat didn' take youse guys long." Slick and Blink glanced up from their lunch and conversation at the sound of Jack's voice.  
  
"Oh hey Jack, nah, Slick 'ere's a natural." Blink grinned, scooting over to make room for Race and Dave, as Jack slid in beside Slick.  
  
"So Jack, whose da new kid?" A newsie asked coming over to stand by the table, he was followed by several other curious ones.  
  
"Oh sorry Bumlits, an' guys, I didn' introduce ya ta me old friend Slick 'ere. Slick dese are some more a my guys, dats Bumlits, dats Boots, Skittery, Specs, Dutchy, Snitch, Itey, Swifty, Pie Eater, uh, dat ova dere is Rice an' Crispy. An' I believe ya know da guy comin' through the door. Heyya Spot!" The rest of the newsies gave Slick a wave and a quick "HI" before returning to their tables as Spot Conlon walked through the door.  
  
"Hey Spot, how's it goin'?" Slick asked casually as Spot slid into the seat Dave vacated as he moved to Jack's side of the table so Spot and Jack could face each other.  
  
"Ah, Slick, nice ta see yer still in one piece."  
  
"Ya honestly thought I couldn' take care a myself fer one night? I've been doin' it for the past eight years Spot." Her voice had lost it casualness, and now had a slight edge to it.  
  
"Do I wanna know what happened?" Jack asked looking between his two best friends and sensing the tension.  
  
"It was nothin'" Slick answered soundly, making no room for arguments from Spot.  
  
"So Jacky-boy, 'ow long did it take ya ta figure out it was Slick 'ere who was yer stalker?" Spot asked turning his attention to Jack.  
  
Jack laughed, "Only a few minutes." His statement was rejected by snorts from four of the table's other occupants.  
  
*********  
  
Authors Note: Just a quick note to you people. First off, thank you for reading my story! Second thanks to those of you who are planning on reviewing, which I hope is all of you! And third, I know this chapter didn't have much action, and I'm sorry, but I can't tell you when the next chapter will be up because as of this coming Monday, I have basically NO free time! I will do my best to get the next one up ASAP! Thank you! 


	5. An Unwelcome Visitor

AUTHORS NOTE: KtStar: Thanx for your review!! Here's the next chapter. It's shorter, but the good stuff's comin' up now that I'm past the introductions!! Thanx again!!  
  
*********  
  
Chapter 5- An Unwelcome Visitor  
  
***Three weeks later***  
  
Slick had only been with the Manhattan Newsies three weeks and it already felt like three years. The boys treated her like one of their own, she figured that had something to do with the fact that they all thought she was a boy, but she didn't correct them, liking the way she was easily accepted. Aside from Jack and Spot, Blink had become her closest friend, the two usually sold together and hung out when ever they both had nothing better to do. Blink in return had accepted Slick as one of his closest friends, he felt he could tell 'him' anything, and often did, Slick had amazing insight when it came to his girl problems. It didn't bother Slick that she was the only girl in a house full of teenage hormonal boys, she was used to it, but out of tact, she made sure she was conveniently not around when they were doing their business and what not. Mainly, to avoid such confrontations Slick made sure she was the first one up and dressed each morning.  
  
After a particularly easy day of selling, due mainly to the recent murder headline, the entire Manhattan Newsie force, accompanied by a Mr. Spot Conlon, were enjoying an early lunch in their usual restaurant, Tibby's.  
  
"So Slick, I ain't seen ya in Brooklyn lately, Blink 'ere 'elpin' ya stay outta trouble?" Spot asked with fake casualness with a smart-ass grin on his face.  
  
Slick grinned and threw a french fry across the table at him. "Yeah, I guess Blink's been a good influence." Blink grinned his patented grin, "Why? Ya been missin' me? What about Shiner? 'Ows 'e holdin' up?"  
  
"As a matta a fact, Shinah asked me ta inform ya if I saw ya taday, that 'e would like 'is deck a cards back." Slick smirked, New York had been informed the hard way of Slick's excellent pick pocketing and theft abilities soon after she'd arrived.  
  
"Ya can tell 'im 'e'll get it back eventually, right now, I'm usin' 'em for good purposes."  
  
"Yeah ta cheat when we play poker." Race grumbled, referring to one of Slick's other capabilities, being a fairly good poker player.  
  
"Cheat? Me? Why Race, I's hurt, I'd neva think a cheatin' while I's playin' ya." Slick feigned hurt in her voice, while the rest of the table cracked up laughing, not even noticing the appearance of a tall stranger behind her.  
  
"Still being a hotshot I see." A fairly large, strong hand clamped down on Slick's left shoulder. The entire table was silenced as they looked from Slick's terrified face to the menacing one standing behind her.  
  
Slick couldn't move, she was too terrified, every muscle in her body frozen, she knew her terror read out easily on her face, and she hated it, but she couldn't hide it. Her breath started coming in ragged, and unregular. 'NO! Not here! What is he doing here?!?!' Slick cursed herself for staying in one place so long, especially a place he'd be sure to come to look for her.  
  
"So, Brooklyn, ya seem to be doing nicely. These your friends?" The hand slid from her shoulder down to her upper left arm, her being on the edge of the booth with her left side facing out it was an easy task.  
  
If at all possible, Slick stiffened even more as the stranger ran his fingers up and down her upper left arm, knowing and feeling the scars that lay beneath the light shirt. Her fear increased slightly too, he now knew who her friends were, that was not good.  
  
Jack looked between the two, and started to stand up, being her leader, he felt it necessary to protect his friend. "Who are ya an' what the hell are ya doin' 'ere?"  
  
"I would inform your friend to sit back down Brooklyn, if you know what's good for him, you and the rest of 'em."  
  
"Sit down Jack." Slick said quietly, he obeyed, eyes shooting daggers at the other guy. She suddenly cleared her throat and her thoughts as she wrenched her arm away from the hand that had been steadily running up and down it, and stood up, turning to face the stranger, who was not so strange to her. "What do you want Slider?" Her voice was cold and hard as iced over stone. The rest of the table looked in shock at Slick, then at Slider.  
  
"How about, we go towards the door, an' have a lil' chat, jus' you an' me Brooklyn, what da ya say?" Slider asked, once again reaching for Slick's left arm, which did not go unnoticed by the table's other occupants.  
  
"Fine." Slick gave a warning look for the rest of the table to stay put as she followed Slider towards the door.  
  
"I don' like him." Blink said quietly once Slick and Slider had moved out of earshot.  
  
"No kiddin, an' was it jus' me or did Slick looked terrified?"  
  
"Brooklyn." Spot said  
  
"Yeah what was up with that? Dat Slider guy callin' Slick Brooklyn?" Mush asked (A/N: I hate to break up the moment, but I realized I totally forgot to have Slick be introduced to Mush, but she has been k? Ok, good, all better...back to my typing and your reading)  
  
"Uh, I's jus' gonna take a guess an' say dat that was 'er Chicago name." Jack answered, his gaze still fixed on his friend and Slider, who'd just pulled up Slick's left sleeve and was again running his fingers along something on her arm.  
  
"Brooklyn? Dey couldn' come up with anythin' bettah than Brooklyn?" Race asked incredulously, earning a vicious glare from Spot. "Uh......"  
  
******************  
  
Slick wrenched her arm away from Slider again as he led her over towards the door, away from her friends. "Whaddya want Slider?" She asked coldly again, fully masking the fear coursing through her.  
  
"Only been in New York a couple a weeks, an' you already got that horrid accent again." He sneered.  
  
Slick swung at him, but her fist was stopped as it landed firmly in his palm. He dropped her right arm and picked up the one facing the door, her left one. Pulling up the loose sleeve, he traced his finger around the scared marks that ran up and down her arm. "Leave me alone Slider."  
  
"Leave you alone?! Nah, I'll pass." Slider glanced around at all the newsies, her friends. "Nice friends Brooklyn."  
  
"Don't you dare touch them."  
  
Slider smirked at her, "They really mean that much to ya? Ah, that's right, you have a tendency to get a lil' too attached ta people, a handy weapon ta use against ya Brooklyn, an' I thank ya for it." Having the final word, one which he knew would sting her, Slider, turned and walked back out into the streets of New York. Leaving a very pissed and scared Slick/Brooklyn in his wake.  
  
Slick took a couple deep breaths to steady her nerves, which felt as though they'd been stretched to their limit then rubbed with sandpaper, before turning and heading back to the table where a very confused and worried group of boys sat waiting for an explanation that would never come. She quickly paid her tab, ignoring all of her friends, and walked quickly out the door. 


	6. Unpleasant Encounters

Chapter 6--- Unpleasant Encounters  
  
  
  
Slick knew she was being unfair, leaving her friends at Tibby's without an explanation for what had happened, but she just couldn't bring herself to give one. Explaining Slider, and why she knew he was here would just bring up what had happened in Chicago, and what she was running from, she couldn't put her friends through that, she couldn't put herself through it again either. Sighing, Slick looked around the streets outside Tibby's for any sign of Slider or any other Chicago gang member, from any of the three gangs. None. "DAMN YOU SLIDER!!" Slick cursed in Italian, a language she was very fluent in. When she'd been in Chicago, her and other gangsters had used Italian to communicate around English only speaking people, other gangs had used other languages, but hers was Italian, she like the language too, it was slick, it ran off your tongue easily. Jamming her hands into her pants pockets, Slick walked off into the streets, in search of something, she wasn't sure what, maybe Slider, she had an aching to soak him that needed to be fulfilled.  
  
************  
  
"Slick's jus' gonna leave us 'ere without explainin' who da 'ell that guy was?" Mush asked of his friends.  
  
"Kinda looks that way." Race answered, still looking at the door Slick had walked out.  
  
"We can't do anythin' anyways, that guy seemed ta have Slick scared pretty damn bad." Spot took his turn in reasoning with what had just happened.  
  
"Well we can't jus' sit 'ere! I wanna know who that Slider guy is, he an' Slick sure seem ta have a history." Blink put in.  
  
Jack just sat in shock and thought, the guy's threat still ringing in his mind, 'I would inform your friend to sit back down Brooklyn, if you know what's good for him, you and the rest of 'em.'  
  
"Ey Jack, you ok dere?"  
  
"Yeah Race fine." Jack looked back at his friends in a daze, "Let's go back ta the House, I don' wanna sit 'round 'ere anymore." They all looked at him, nodded, paid their tab, and left, the rest of the Manhattan Newsies were soon to follow.  
  
****************  
  
"Damn, she ain't there."  
  
"She's one a those Newsies though ain't she?"  
  
"Yeah, but she ain't with 'em."  
  
Two figures crouched in an alleyway watching the Manhattan Newsies file out of Tibby's after their lunch. Their accents were no where close to being those of normal New Yorkers, and held a distinctness all their own.  
  
"Well she ain't here, an' she ain't in Brooklyn, which is where she talked about all the time, and she ain't in the Bronx, or Harlem, or Queens, so where the hell is she Raider?!"  
  
The boy called Raider, looked at his friend, "I never said she wasn' in this borough, she jus' ain't in there with the rest of those boys, an' besides, didja see the first two to come out Sly? The one with the cowboy hat an' bandanna, an' the otha one with the slingshot an' cane? Those are the boys she talked about all the time, Cowboy an' Spot, I's heard their names all 'round here, which means if they're here, then Brooklyn'll be 'round here somewheres too."  
  
Sly just sulked, and muttered some Italian curse at Raider, who merely raised an eyebrow in response, and pulled his friend out into the sun-lit street. The New York passerbys looked with disgusted curiosity at the two boys.  
  
Raider was extremely tall and skinny with shaggy jet-black hair and expressive green eyes, a true Italian, and most found him slightly intimidating. He was excellent at his talent, raiding, or thieving as one might call it, one of the top most relied guys in his old gang.  
  
Sly wasn't near as tall as Raider, but he wasn't short either, he was skinny too, but most street kids are. Sly had dark blonde hair and dark blue eyes, he wasn't quite sure of his heritage, but he was proud to call himself an American. He wasn't near as intimidating as Raider, but he didn't need to be, Sly got around by being just that, sly, he was sneaky and an accomplished pickpocket.  
  
"Common Sly, we might as well keep looking for her, it's a big city, an' I'd hate ta think what would happen if Slider got a hold of her before we did." Sly nodded and agreed, it was better if they found Hot Shot (aka.. Brooklyn!) before Slider, but he doubted that would be the case, knowing both parties.  
  
************  
  
******A Few hours and Poker Games Later*******  
  
"Where is she Spot? I don' like 'er bein' out dis late with that guy out dere." Spot glanced at his friend, Jack had been a mess for the past few hours. No one had heard from or seen Slick in that long, under normal circumstances, no one would have been worried and they would have assumed she'd gone off, and would be back later. But these weren't normal circumstances, and though he'd be the last to admit it, Spot was worried about her too.  
  
****************  
  
"Ah Brooklyn, nice ta see ya again my dear."  
  
Slick nearly jumped out of her skin, she had been making her way towards the Lodging House, giving up on finding Slider. It was late, she was tired, and she really didn't want to find him in the dark, but unfortunately, the latter seemed inevitable, especially when he was looking for her. Turning, she coolly faced him, "Slider."  
  
"Come here." He beckoned her into the alley, she obliged, but just barely, keeping her thoughts and actions controlled no matter how much fear she was feeling. "My, my, my, doesn't this look familiar, you, me, a dark alley, my knife, your dagger, it's all just a change of scene." He lunged at her, knife in hand.  
  
*************  
  
"Did you hear that?" Sly stopped to listen. *crash*, *thump*.  
  
"Yeah, I heard it, common, over here." Raider led the way to an alley up the street. They reached it just as they saw a glint of eyes, and a figure drag a limp figure over the wall and out of sight.  
  
"Ohhhhhhhhh." Two pairs of eyes fell on the limp figure laying in the dirt. And two Italian curses filled the air simultaneously  
  
"Common Sly, we need to get her to the Lodging House, so we can see how bad they worked her over."  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"I ain't draggin' her ass all the way ta Brooklyn."  
  
"Ah, right, uh, it's over a few streets."  
  
"Yeah, help me lift her. I'm gonna kill those son ofa b*tches someday."  
  
*****************  
  
**Knock knock** Jack looked up, startled, no one ever knocked on the Lodging House door, most knew just to come in. He looked around, most of the other newsies had stopped what they had been doing, which was mainly lounging around the lobby and playing or watching poker, and looked at the door. The knocks sounded again, and was Kloopman, walked up and opened the door, revealing two standing figures, with a third slumped in the taller one's arms. "What the hell..."  
  
**********  
  
Sly and Raider walked into the Newsboy Lodging House, amidst the stares of all it's occupants.  
  
*********  
  
It only took Jack a second to recognize the figure in the tall boy's arms, Slick. He turned his glare to the two boys. Spot did the same, along with Blink, Race, Mush, and pretty much the rest of the newsie household.  
  
*********  
  
"Uh, Raider, I think, that they think, that we did this to her." Sly whispered to Raider in Italian, Raider gave a brief nod, glaring back at the boys, his green eyes flashing.  
  
"Did you?" a voice asked near Sly in broken Italian.  
  
Both looked visibly startled and turned to look at the short Italian with the cigar hanging out of his mouth at Sly's elbow. Raider's eyes narrowed as he looked at the boy, "No, we found her in an alley and brought her here."  
  
The rest of the newsies were looking between Race and the two strangers confused, they were speaking in a language unknown to them, but what most of them guessed to be Italian based on their knowledge of Race's heritage.  
  
Race nodded, and turned to his friends, "They didn' do dis, dey said dey found 'im in an alley." The other newsies nodded, and turned their glares into looks of appreciation and relief that Slick was still alive.  
  
Raider and Sly looked at each other, sharing an unspoken statement, 'New Yorkers have horrible accents.'  
  
"Uh, 'ere, let's take 'er upstairs, inta da extra bunkroom." Jack said turning and leading the way, the rest of the Manhatteners, an unconscious Slick, plus two Chicogoans following. (Yeah, they ARE from Chicago, in case you hadn't figured it out yet).  
  
Raider carefully laid Slick down on a bunk and began seeing to her wounds, ignoring the newsies. "Someone go get me some water an' a couple of rags." Jack looked at Blink, who quickly complied. "Uh, Sly, come'ere." Raider, gently pulled the ripped left sleeve of Slick's shirt up to her shoulder.  
  
Sly took one look at the scars, both old and new, and let out an Italian curse that would have made mothers faint. "Both of 'em now?!" He was shaking he was so angry.  
  
Jack and Spot saw both boys looking at something on Slick's left arm, and remembered how Slider had been rubbing that arm earlier that day, they exchanged a glance, and moved forward to see. Neither boy was prepared for what they saw, and both faces paled before getting angry. "What is dat?!" Jack all but yelled at the black-haired boy.  
  
Raider looked back at Jack, his face just as angry, and his eyes blazing, "That," he said pointing to one of the knifed in designs, the one that resembled a whip and something else neither Jack nor Spot could make out "is Slider's mark. And that," he pointed to the newly carved serpent winding it's way around Slick's arm, "is Snake's mark."  
  
"Hot Shot, is NOT gonna be happy to know that they are both here." Sly said looking at Raider, "'Cause I doubt she knows Snake's here, 'e's too much of a wuss when it comes to her, he wouldda knocked her unconscious before marking her."  
  
"Waita sec. I thought Slick was Brooklyn ta ya people." Spot broke in, interrupting Sly.  
  
Sly quirked an eyebrow, "She is, ta most of the ToC that is, but ta a few she's Hot Shot." Most of the newsies smirked, the name fit Slick well.  
  
"Uh, she? Whydaya keep callin' Slick or whateva a she?" Race asked confused.  
  
This time four pairs of confused eyes turned to him and the rest of the newsies who seemed to want an answer to the same question. Sly and Raider looked at each other before turning to Jack and Spot, with raised eyebrows.  
  
"Cause Slick, or whateva ya wanna call 'er, IS a goil, dats why." Jack answered, looking at all of his wide-eyed newsies, "I thought ya all knew dat already."  
  
Blink's eyes were perhaps the widest as he looked from his unconscious best friend back to Jack, Spot and the two newcomers, he hadn't known that.  
  
Raider cleared his throat uneasily, he'd finished wiping the blood from Slick and he now looked at the two leaders.  
  
Jack jumped slightly, turning back to the black and blonde-haired boy. "Sorry, I guess we ain't been introduced yet, the names Kelly, Jack Kelly, I's da leadah 'ere in Mahattan." He spit in his hand an offered it to the black-haired boy.  
  
"Raider, formerly a Razz Hawk." Raider replied spiting in his hand and shaking Jack's.  
  
"Sly, formerly a Razz Hawk too." Sly repeated Raider's actions.  
  
"Spot Conlon, leadah of Brooklyn." Spot offered his hand too, after spiting in it.  
  
"Raider."  
  
"Sly."  
  
"I think Slick 'ere'll be ok, 'ow 'bout we go inta da otha bunkroom, an' ya boys can tell us, more 'bout yerselves, an' 'ow ya know Slick 'ere." Spot looked at Jack, who nodded, turned and walked out into the other room, Sly, Raider, and the rest of the Manhattan Newsie force following.  
  
**********  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow, 3 chapters in one weekend! Don't get use to it! LUCKY: thank ya for yer review! I'm doing my best not to stress myself, but I wanna get as much as possible up, so as not to keep ya waiting! Well what do ya think so far? I've still got secrets to reveal, but that'll come later, if you people keep reviewing, so I know if you actually like it!! So Review if you wanna see more! Thank ya much! 


	7. ToCs

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok, now I know this is short, but right now with my schedule, it's kinda tough to find time to sit down and write, so here ya go.  
  
~SHOUT OUTS~  
  
Lucky-Thanx! Yeah Slider is an ass, but you don't know the half of it yet!!  
  
Jami-LOL, thank you! Here's somewhat of an explanation for what's going on, but you'll hafta keep reading to figure it all out!  
  
KtStar-Thanks for your constant reviews, I really appreciate it!  
  
Emu-Thank ya too, especially for your correction of BumlEts name!  
  
Stymie-Thank you! Could I have your web site URL?  
  
*****THANK YA ALL!!!!!!!***** ***************  
  
Chapter 7-ToCs  
  
"So." Jack began once all the newsies plus Raider and Sly had claimed a bunk to sit on.  
  
Raider glanced over at Sly who was sitting next to him, Sly shrugged slightly, and glanced back at Jack and Spot who were sitting side by side on the bunk across from them.  
  
"Yer from Chicago ain't ya?" Blink asked from his perch, on the bunk above Spot and Jack  
  
"Yeah, we're from Chicago." Raider nodded his agreement.  
  
"So who are ya?" Spot asked bluntly.  
  
"Sly an' Raider, I thought we already did the introductions." Sly quipped. Raider glared at him, now was not the time for Sly to be running his mouth.  
  
Spot smirked, "I know dat, I meant, ya said somethin' 'bout bein' Razz Hawks, I think it was. What's dat?"  
  
Raider spoke up before Sly had a chance, "Before we tell ya that, I wanna know, how much has Hot Shot told ya 'bout Chicago?"  
  
"Nothin'" The statement was agreed to by every other person in the room.  
  
"Nothin'?! As in, like absolutely nothin'?" Raider asked. He looked at Sly who looked back at him, his expression clearly reading, 'you expected her to?' "I woulda thought she woulda told yall somethin'" Sly just rolled his eyes.  
  
"Nah, she kept it all ta 'erself, brushed off da subject any time someone tried ta talk ta 'er 'bout it." Jack answered.  
  
"Go figure." Sly said under his breath, Raider glared at him. "You honestly thought Raider, that she would tell 'em what happened there? She never would have told us, if we hadn't been there."  
  
"What 'appened?" Spot asked coolly, looking back and forth between the two boys.  
  
Sly and Raider looked at each other a long time, communicating silently, by facial expressions and slight head shakes. "It's not our's to tell" Raider whispered in Italian to Sly, who agreed with a nod. "We can't tell you." Raider said turning back to the group.  
  
"Why not?" Blink asked. Sly looked up at him quizzically, "Da names Blink." He said to Sly, who grinned in return.  
  
"Sly" Blink nodded and grinned, before turning back to Raider with his question still hanging in the air.  
  
"Because it ain't our story ta tell, it's Hot Shot's."  
  
"Slick"  
  
"Whateva, ask her, if she'll tell ya. But we ain't gonna tell ya."  
  
"Ok, so back ta me otha question, whatsa Razz Hawk?" Spot asked.  
  
Sly smirked, "It's actually Razz's Hawks, that's what we were, onea Razz's Hawks." Several eyebrows raised and looked quizzically at the two Chicagoans.  
  
"Who's Razz?"  
  
"Our leader. The leader of the Hawks."  
  
"A gang?"  
  
"Yeah a gang. One of three. The Hawks, Blades, an' Sliders. All known as The ToCs." Raider clarified.  
  
"ToCs? What da 'ell is a ToC?" Mush asked.  
  
Sly grinned wickedly, "It's short for Thief or Thieves of Chicago. The Hawks, Blades, an' Sliders make up what the cops call the Thieves of Chicago. We're professional thieves, an' criminals by trade."  
  
The rest of the bunkroom looked around at each other a little nervously.  
  
Raider laughed, "Don' worry, we don' steal from people we know."  
  
"I's gotta 'nother question," Spot started, "dis Slider guy that came inta Tibby's taday, I'm guessin' 'e's da leadah of da Sliders?" Raider and Sly both nodded the affirmative. "An' dis Slider an' Slick or whateva ya wanna call 'er 'ave some 'istory, am I right." Again, two more nods. "But ya ain't gonna tell us what dat 'istory is?" Again, nods. "Are ya gonna tell us anymore 'bout Chicago?" This time two heads shook negatively. "I see." Identical twin smirks.  
  
Raider looked around, glanced at Sly, then looked at Jack, "Uh, I know, ya don' know us very well." Spot snorted, two glares were sent his way, "But, I, we, we was wonderin' could we maybe stay 'ere? I wanna stay with......Slick, an' I know Sly does too."  
  
Jack looked at the two boys, surprised the even had to ask, "Yeah, 'o 'course ya can stay, ya can stay ferever fer all I care, but, if ya do, ya gotta become Newsies."  
  
Raider looked at Sly, who merely shrugged and nodded, "All right, thanks, I wanna watch over Hot Shot tanight though, jus' incase she wakes up."  
  
"Slick." Sly corrected, and earned a glare from Raider.  
  
Jack laughed, "Ok, we got an extra bunk, right behind ya, cause yer actually sitting on Slick's bunk, mine's the one above it."  
  
Both boys, looked at the empty bunk behind them, then back at each other nodding, "Yeah, that'll work, thanks Jack."  
  
"No problem."  
  
Raider got up to go back into the other bunkroom to be with Slick, Sly followed, "I'll go ta the warehouse we stashed our stuff in tomorrow, an' get it, you gonna stay an' watch 'er all night?" Raider nodded. "Alright." Sly glanced back in the room filled with newsies, "This is shoa gonna be different."  
  
**************** 


	8. Uneasy Reunion

Chapter 8-- Uneasy Reunion  
  
"All right, UP! Carry da Banner, let's go ya lazy bums!" The ritual morning wake up sounded through out the Newsboy Lodging House. Groans, moans, and pillow throwing at the breaker of the silence followed. "UP, UP, all youse, UP!!" Slowly, feet hit the floor and trudged off in different directions.  
  
**********  
  
**Knock** **knock** **knock** Raider looked up, it was morning, he'd dozed off briefly. He glanced at the bed beside his chair, she was still out, he couldn't tell if she was sleeping now, or if she really was still unconscious. An ironic smile crossed his face, even now, Slick had a presence to her, her dark blonde hair and dark tan standing out in contrast with the rest of the bed sheets.  
  
**Knock** **knock** **knock** "Come in." The door creaped open to reveal Kid Blink. "Yeah?"  
  
"Uh, hey Raider. I was jus' wonderin' if ya wanted ta get some sleep? I'll watch 'er."  
  
Raider looked between his friend and Blink, he was tired, he had to admit, but he wasn't so keen on leaving his friend. "Yeah he'll go, he needs ta rest." Raider looked at Sly, who had just appeared behind a startled Blink. "Common Raider, let Blink watch 'er. I need ta go get our stuff, an' you need ta sleep, since I know ya didn' all night."  
  
"Geez Sly, don' sneak up on people like dat, I thought ya were from Chicago, an' knew not ta do dat." Blink griped.  
  
Sly grinned, "Yeah, but ya don' have a blade an' it's my job ta be sly an' sneak up on people, hell, they named me for it."  
  
Raider couldn't help but grin as well, Sly did have a knack for making people either jump out of their skin or grin at his antics. "Yeah alright, ya gotta come wake me up when she does though k Blink?" he complied getting out of his chair, taking one last look at Slick, before heading out the door.  
  
"Shoah Raider." Blink agreed and moved to Raider's vacated spot as Sly ushered Raider out and shut the door behind him.  
  
***********  
  
"Owwww"  
  
"SLICK! Yer alive!" Blink cried, his wide trademark grin spreading over his face.  
  
"'Course I'm alive, jus in a li'l pain." That was an understatement. Slick's whole body ached with a non-receding pain. "Were am I?"  
  
"Yer in da Lodgin' 'ouse, jus' in da otha spare room. Ya been unconscious since last night."  
  
Slick grimaced as the memories from last night came flooding back into her head, Slider, the fight, her arm........wait, her arm? Slick looked over at her left arm that was bandaged from her elbow to her shoulder, and muttered an Italian curse.  
  
Blink raised an eyebrow and looked at her, his face serious, "Why didn' ya tell me Slick?"  
  
Brief panic spazed through Slick, "Uh, tell ya what?"  
  
"Dat you'se a goil. Ya couldda tol' me at least, I thought I was yer best friend." A look of hurt crossed his face.  
  
Sudden relief replaced the panic, but a little guilt remained. "I know I shouldda told ya Blink, you an' da rest a the guys, but I didn' want ya ta treat me any different. An' don' say that ya wouldn' have, cause I know ya Blink." Slick added stopping the objection set to come out of his mouth. "I'm still da same person Blink, the exact same, jus' now ya know that I'm a girl 'stead of a boy."  
  
Blink looked at her quietly before smiling again, "Alright Slick, I know ya are." He leaned over and gave her a warm hug that she gladly returned.  
  
The door suddenly opened, "Hot Shot?"  
  
Slick sat straight up, ignoring the shooting pain, but instead looked in shock at the familiar face of the tall black-haired and green-eyed boy. "Raider?! What the hell are you doin' here?!"  
  
He'd been woken by the sound of a shout from the room across the hall, and it had only taken him a minute to figure what was said and what it meant. "Your alive!"  
  
Slick glared, "No kidding."  
  
Raider ignored her sardonic comment and strode over to her bedside and gave his old friend a hug, who cracked a grin.  
  
Slick looked back at Blink who was looking back and forth between her and Raider, who in turn had his eyes fixed only on her. "Uh Blink?"  
  
Blink locked eyes with Slick and understanding passed between them, "Shoah Slick." She smiled gratefully at him as he got up and turned to leave.  
  
**********  
  
Blink knew he had no right to be jealous, Slick was his friend, and Raider was her friend as well, they just had things to talk about right? He was about to contemplate it further when Sly ran into him coming up the stairs. "Ugh, watch it Sly."  
  
Sly grinned apologetically "Sorry Blink." He stopped suddenly a moment of realization coming over him as he looked from Blink to the closed door behind him, "Hey, why ya out 'ere? Slick awake?"  
  
Blink answered both questions with a simple, "Yeah." And Sly brushed past him, his arm still holding two bags, into the room he'd just left Raider and Slick in. Sighing, he turned and walked down the stairs heading for the restaurant he knew all his friends would be gathered in, leaving the three Chicagoans to themselves.  
  
************  
  
"HOT SHOT!!!!!!" Sly was grinning from ear to ear as he stepped inside, dropped the bags and rushed over to Slick's side.  
  
"SLY?!" Slick's face lit up, contrasting Raider's darkening one. She reached out and gave her other friend a hug. "I missed ya both!"  
  
"Why didn' ya tell 'em Brooklyn?"  
  
Slick's face darkened suddenly, "It's Slick. And ya honestly expected me to?"  
  
"Well ya shouldda told 'em somethin'!"  
  
Sly looked helplessly between his two best friends, he knew better than to get between them when they were arguing, which actually happened a lot.  
  
Both tempers were raising, "So what are you doing here?"  
  
"We came to protect you! We saw Slider leave Chicago, an' knew he was comin' after you. But we thought you wouldda taken more precaution, an' told yer friends somethin. They deserve ta know somethin at least!"  
  
Slick glared, "What didja want me ta tell 'em?! I'm wanted for the murder of two people, an' brutal beating of another by the cops, an' the leader of The Sliders is afta my blood?! Is that what ya wanted me ta tell 'em Raider?!"  
  
***********  
  
Author's Note: Ohhh.... I left ya on a cliff, don't fall off!! J/K! I know this is short again and it's been awhile since my last update, but I have been REALLY busy! I will try to post more ASAP.  
  
§Shout Outs§  
  
Swimmer-Thank you!!!! But you sorry, you will just have to keep reading to figure out what happened to Slick in Chicago!  
  
Pure-Princess888- ::Takes a bow:: Thank ya much, I do try ;-)  
  
KtStar-Here ya go gurl, you gotta be one of my most loyal fans, and I totally appreciate it!  
  
Rumor-Nah, you ain't spoiled, you had to wait for this one, an' I'm sorry! But here ya go, tho it really ain't much.  
  
Stymie-Thank you so much, I appreciate all the complements! And will do!  
  
Lucky- Thank you, and thank you. I didn' mean to steal names, it was just the name I had planned for his part all along, but yeah, that is ironic! 


	9. Blink's Find

Chapter 9-Blink's Find  
  
*************  
  
Blink walked slowly into Tibby's shortly after leaving Slick, Sly and Raider alone at the Lodging House.  
  
"Blink! Is Slick ok?" Jack broke out asking almost immediately after seeing his friend walk through the door. Most of the other newsies's faces bore the same concern Jack's did, except Spot who just sat there looking expectant for the news, he'd spent the night in Manhattan.  
  
"Yeah, she's ok, Raider an' Sly are talkin' ta 'er right now." Blink said while making his way over to the table Jack, Spot, Race, and Mush adorned. The boys nodded, glad to hear she was ok, and went back to their eating.  
  
"Whatsa matta Blink?" Race asked his friend as Blink sat down next to him.  
  
Blink looked guiltily at Race, "Nothin'" He'd heard the yells from the open window as he'd walked down the street, he'd been too far to make out words but he knew Slick's voice well enough.  
  
************  
  
Minutes of uneasy silence had passed in the bunkroom, before Raider answered Slick's rants, "No, but it ain't right to put them through this an' not know the story Slick, it ain't fair ta them." Raider's serious green eyes looked into ones returning to sliver from a stormy gray.  
  
Everyone of Raider's words were right and it hurt Slick even more to realize it. "I know." She said quietly, looking down then over into worried dark blue eyes sitting next to her on the bed. "But I jus' can't come out an' tell what happened. I know it ain't fair ta them, but they're better not knowing Raider, Jack an' Spot would jus go after Slider an' get themselves killed. I can't go through that again Raider, I can't stand by an' let my friends get killed again, it nearly killed me the first time."  
  
"He'll kill you if ya don' get outta here." Sly put in, his happy nature receding as he looked with genuine worry at his silver-eyed friend.  
  
"I know, but give me a few days, I think I worked him over enough to be immobile for at least awhile."  
  
Sly looked at Raider who nodded, and the three dropped the subject. "So, how's da resta Chicago been with out me? An' how's Razz, Blade, Swipe, Run, an' Li'l Thief?"  
  
The two boys smiled, and the next few hours were spent recounting the past three weeks.  
  
***********  
  
Jack and the rest of the newsies minus a few but plus a Spot Conlon, who seemed to be in no hurry to return to Brooklyn, were sitting playing poker and talking in groups in the bunkroom when the door opened. "Slick!" Jack got to his feet and strode over to her, enveloping her in a hug.  
  
"Heyya Jacky-boy" Slick pulled herself from his grasp and grinned at him.  
  
Sly and Raider walked around the group gathering around Slick towards the bunk that had been declared theirs. Raider threw his small bag of possessions on the bottom bunk, while Sly just threw his on the floor between their bunk and Jack and Slick's not noticing the Chicago newspaper article that fluttered out of it and onto the floor.  
  
"Hey, um, I'm hungry I think I'm gonna walk ova to Tibby's or somethin' an' get a quick meal."  
  
Jack looked at Slick worriedly, "I don' want ya goin' alone Slick, want me ta come with ya?"  
  
"Don' bother, we'll come, won' we Raider?" Sly piped up, feeling his own hunger, and speaking for Raider.  
  
"Yeah, you guys jus' chill 'ere, we'll be back soon."  
  
Jack looked between the three, sighed and agreed, "Alright, it ain't too dark yet, jus' be careful k?"  
  
Slick smirked, "We will Jack."  
  
"I mean it Slick, don' go get yerself hoit again."  
  
"I know Jack, 'sides Raider an' Sly are comin' too, we'll be fine." Slick led the way out the door, down the stairs and out onto the streets of Manhattan.  
  
*********  
  
"She really needs ta give us an explanation fer all dis." Mush griped once the three had left.  
  
"No kiddin'" Race agreed, "What da you think Blink?" Race turned to his left where a moment ago the former had been sitting playing poker. "Blink?"  
  
"Hey, lookit this..." Blink held up a newspaper from between the Chicagoans and Slick and Jack's bunk.  
  
"What is it?" Snitch asked walking up to Blink.  
  
"Whatsit look like? It's a pape stupid." Itey said, rolling his eyes at Snitch, who merely stuck out his tongue and turned back to Blink expectantly.  
  
"Whatsit say?" Jack asked also coming up to Blink and standing over his shoulder.  
  
"CHICAGO TIMES-May 11, 1900, dat was last month."  
  
"Yeah, well why did Sly or Raider keep it?"  
  
"It's Sly's I saw 'im drop 'is stuff dere" Blink confirmed before scanning the headlines, "Listen ta dis: 'DOUBLE MURDER UNSETTLES CHICAGO CITIZENS': 'Murder of two an' near death beatin' took place last night. Logan Snipes an' Lily Morgan, both citizens of Chicago were found dead in an alley way just off Main early this morning. Another, Justin Anderson, also a Chicago citizen, was found near by beaten almost to the point of death. The Thieves of Chicago are involved. Eyewitness identified Hawk gang member 'Brooklyn', as responsible for murder and beating. 'Brooklyn' is well known among the ToC for being dangerous and deadly. This is the 4th case of murder in the last month.'" Blink stopped reading and looked up at his friends in shock. Their reaction wasn't much different.  
  
***************  
  
Author's Note: I am sooo mean leaving you all like this again! But hey, in my defense I say, "What is the genre for this story?" "Oh yeah, drama and SUSPENSE!!" Muhaahaha, ok, so I've had too much sugar this morning, while trying to finish this chapter up, and start a new one, so I know it's short, but you will have to deal with it b/c more is coming, I PROMISE!!  
  
§SHOUTS§  
  
WILLOW- Thank you! I don't like always reading love stories either, I like adventure, suspense, mystery and drama.......wait, my stories got all that! And sorry ta say I'm leaving ya dangling AGAIN! But you'll jus' hafta keep reading. Thank ya again.  
  
CHACHI-Thank you!! ::takes a bow:: I'll be sure to let you know when I've updated even more, but for now, here's one quick chapter!  
  
SWIMMER-I plead the 5th in response to your "MURDER?!?!" question, cause I can't give it all away yet! But this chapter MAYBE answered some of your questions! ;-)  
  
LUCKY-LOL, alright...here ya go. Thank ya!  
  
KTSTAR-Again, you gotta be my most loyal reviewer! So here's jus' a li'l more for ya.  
  
TIGER-'Poopy head'? Don' ya think that's a li'l strong? LOL, Sorry to say this chappie is a cliff hanger too, I do this jus' to keep you all reading! But thank you!  
  
***OK Peeps, REVIEW! If ya wanna see more of this story that is, if ya don't, ::SIGH:: then don't review..... But, for your own personal safty I strongly suggest you click that button at the bottom that says "CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT REVIEW"!!! That's all I have to say, so I'll go back to my diligent typing now! 


	10. Unfortunate Happenings

Chapter 10-Unfortunate Happenings  
  
**************  
  
"Well, you were shoah impatient ta get outta there." Sly observed as they walked down the street towards the restaurant.  
  
"Dey woulda started askin' questions, dat I didn' wanna answer." Sly and Raider exchanged a meaningful look before turning it on Slick, "Shuddup." They shrugged, and continued on.  
  
*********** "Moider?" Jack breathed  
  
"Dat would explain why she's 'ere now." Spot said quietly. Even he was caught off guard by the article.  
  
The entire bunkroom was in silent shock, sure Slick was known for her attitude and quick temper, and yeah she was even a little dangerous, but deadly? They just couldn't imagine Slick killing somebody, much less TWO somebodies and almost a third.  
  
Blink just sat on his top bunk motionless, nothing was going through his mind, it had just screeched to a standstill, no thoughts would register. No thoughts, just words, just two words: Brooklyn and murder.  
  
"Blink?" The silence was broken by a whisper from Mush. Blink's good eye turned towards his friend, the normal glint gone, now void of any expression. Several more pairs of eyes turned to Blink, it was known by all that Slick and Blink were inseparable best friends. (Author pauses to hug a distressed Blink)  
  
"Whadda we do now?" Skittery spoke the question on almost everyone's mind.  
  
Jack and Spot looked at each other, "It ain't my turf" was all Spot said.  
  
All eyes now rested on Jack, to see what would befall their friend. Jack looked around at his newsies, it hurt him to think of Slick as a murderer, but he had to remind himself that each newsie here had his or her own history, some which weren't so pleasant in themselves. Yet, on the other hand, none of the rest of them were wanted for murder. "She......she can stay 'ere, but when she gets back wes gonna talk dis all out, Sly an' Raider included." Blink let out an inaudible sigh of relief, glad for the moment anyway, that his friend wasn't going to be kicked out.  
  
Speak of the devil. Moments after Jack's statement, the bunkroom door opened revealing an arguing Sly and Raider. "If you hadn't started in again, she wouldn' have ditched us!" Sly yelled at Raider, his normally easy-going nature gone, and replaced with irritation, and anger. The two stopped dead seeing the other newsies. "Shit" Sly said under his breath  
  
"Where is she?" Jack asked his voice, unnaturally quiet.  
  
"Uhmmm...." Sly started, looking at Raider for any help in the matter.  
  
"She ran off." Raider stated, his eyes blazing, daring anyone to question him further. No one did. Instead, Spot, got off the bunk he'd been sitting on and stormed passed the two Chicagoans, out the door. The rest of the bunkroom was left in uneasy silence as the two made their way to their bunks, Sly was about to say something, when Raider cut him off with a curt, "Shuddup Sly."  
  
Sly frowned and made his way to his abandoned bag. A newspaper had been roughly shoved back into his bag, he picked up frowning even more as he glanced over it. 'MAY 11, 1900' his eyes got wide, it was the murder article. He looked quickly around the room trying to figure out if someone had read it, the newsies that were in the room had moved and were dispersed around, going about their normal activities. The uneasiness that had been in the room when he and Raider had walked in was gone now. He shook his head, stuck the paper deep into his bag, and swung up onto the top bunk.  
  
**************  
  
Jack let his breath out slowly, and relaxed slightly, Sly had noticed the newspaper article, but he obviously didn't think they'd read it. He glanced around at his newsies and noticed a few missing, "'Ey, Rice, Crispy," He addressed the newsie twins (A/N: yeah I know more twins, sry, but I love twins!) sitting on the bunk beside him playing a card game, " who's missin'?"  
  
The two looked around, they were keen eyed and knew most of the things that happened at the Lodging House, "Uh, Boots an' Snipes." One of them said, Jack was pretty sure it was Rice.  
  
"T'anks" He said and walked over to where the poker game was going on.  
  
A good five minutes later the bunkroom flew open again and a very pissed off looking Slick entered, followed by Spot. The bunkroom inhabitants looked up, doing their best to disguise their unease, but Slick didn't even give them a passing glance as she stalked over to her bunk. Sly jumped down from his and Raider got up quickly, and it was only a matter of seconds before an argument broke out. None of them were able to understand it due to the fact they kept it strictly in Italian, Race could only pick up a few words here and there, but all of them knew by the tone of the voices, it wasn't a pleasant argument.  
  
Slick's eyes were a blazing storm-gray as she yelled something at Raider, before spinning around and plopping down on her bunk her eyes straight ahead. Everyone, including Sly and Raider, knew to leave her alone when her eyes got that color and she got that intense look on her face. Raider, turned too and sat back down on his bunk, he eyes also blazing.  
  
Sly looked between his two friends and then at the newsies sitting in their own places, all looking at him, Raider and Slick. He closed his eyes tightly, he was tired of this, it hurt him to always be stuck in the middle. Sitting down on the floor between the two bunks, Sly let his shoulders sag as he put his head in his hands, willing himself to keep a strong outer composure, while inside he felt like he was being ripped apart. (Author gives huge hug to Sly)  
  
The bunkroom went slowly back to doing their own thing, trying to break the horrible silence. Jack turned to Spot, "Where didja find 'er?"  
  
"A few roofs ova." Jack nodded and hung his head, this was getting tiring.  
  
It was perhaps a full ten minutes this time before the bunk door opened again, but much slower this time. It revealed two young newsies, with a very beat up looking Snipeshooter leaning heavily on an exhausted Boots, who was doing his best to support him.  
  
"Gawd! What 'appened?!" Jack demanded as Mush and Skittery rushed to pick up Snipeshooter and put him in his own bed  
  
"'E....'e was beat up." Boots said between gulps of air.  
  
"I can see dat, but by who?"  
  
"I dunno, I wasn't 'round 'im right den.  
  
******************  
  
While Jack was interrogating Boots, Raider leaned over the end of his bunk to talk to Blink, who was sitting in front of it. "Who is dat?"  
  
"Snipes."  
  
Sly's head shot up and he looked at Raider wide-eyed, Raider looked the same way, as both heads turned to Slick, who had gone ghostly white, her eyes wide with fear. "NO." She breathed.  
  
************  
  
Jack turned to Snipeshooter to get an explanation for what had happened, but the poor kid had passed out cold. "Tell me what 'appened." He said quietly to Boots.  
  
"I was out meetin' somea my friends from Mid-Town an' when I was on me way back 'ere I came across Snipes layin' on da sidewalk, dere was dis guy beside 'im. I ran up an' demanded ta know what 'appened, all dis guy said was he was walkin' down da street when 'e saw dis guy beatin' Snipes 'ere up, 'e ran up ta 'elp an' da guy ran off. Da guy says 'e gotta good look at da guy an' 'e'll go ta da cops tamarra an' tell 'em." Boots explained to the silent bunkroom.  
  
"An' you let him?" Slick's quiet voice asked from across the room.  
  
Boots looked confusedly at Slick, "Yeah."  
  
"Hey, um...Raider, ya know 'ow ta clean cuts, come'ere a sec." Mush said from Snipeshooters' side.  
  
Raider complied, with a sickening feeling in his gut, he knew what he would find when he looked at the cuts on Snipes' left arm. Taking Mush's place, he lifted up Snipes' ripped left sleeve. He heard both Slick and Sly swear whole-heartedly in Italian behind him, turning he looked Slick in the eye.  
  
Her eyes were wide, and filled with fear as she looked upon the serpent winding itself around Snipes' arm, tearing her gaze away from Raider she looked at her own left arm, which still had the bandages on it. Taking a deep breath, Slick ripped the bandages off, and looked at the matching mark running around her upper arm. Her stomach went queasy before hardening, hatred surged through her entire being. Snake. She was sure that Snake had been the one Boots had met up with beside Snipes' and fed him those lines, all of them except the one about going to the cops. "NO!!!!!!!" Slick yelled, her voice full of anguish, pain, and hatred. Everyone looked at her startled, "NO!!!!!!!" Tears started to fall as she collapsed to the floor.  
  
************  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: WOW, ok, um...I'm coming to the end of holding you all in suspense ::pouts big time::, the next chapter will hopefully answer all of you questions, the story will go on after that but it may not be suspense anymore. Uh, if you are confused about the importance of Snipes getting beaten go back and read the Chicago article in chapter 9. No Rice an' Crispy aren't mentioned much, but I jus' happened to use those names in like chapter 4 or somethin' an' needed new people to talk. Ok, I'm done with my note, and will now go on to Shout Outs! OH, KEEP REVIEWING!!!!!!!  
  
§ SHOUT OUTS §  
  
IRISH FURY: Well, I'm sure you can tell Jack and Spot are jus a LITTLE unnerved, an' well, Jack doesn' have any plans to kick her out.....at least not at the minute!! :-D Thank ya!  
  
LUCKY: I know I'm being evil, but cliff hangers are soooooooo fun to write!  
  
EMU: SORRY! Thank you for comin back ta read it!  
  
KTSTAR: You get a prize! Not sure what it is yet.... I love always getting reviews from you! Did you expect this part to happen??  
  
SPLASH: Cliff hangers are a BLAST to write! I love keeping people in suspense, makes me feel powerful MUAWHAHA, ok, too much sugar and caffeine in the Mtn. Dew! Uhm, did you ever think of this twist that I put in this chapter?? Ok, so here's your post, an' hopefully this chap. Isn't TOO much torture! :-D  
  
RUMOR: ::hugs poor Blink:: I know. I don' think I dropped any bomb shells this time ::looks up worriedly:: I'll give ya more secrets in the next chappie k?  
  
STRIPES MCKEE: Uh oh, what happened to CLIFF HANGER?!?!?!? I think he's on his way up the cliff, but he ain't there yet!! ^. ~ 


	11. At Long Last: A Confession and Explanati...

AUTHOR'S NOTE: ::Sighs:: Here it is.chapter 11, at long last yall finally get an explanation. Ironic how 11 being my fav. Number is my fav. Chap huh? Yeah w/e. Ok, enjoy. ::sighs::  
  
Chapter 11-At Long Last: A Confession and Explanation  
  
PART ONE:  
  
Sly knelt down beside Slick's crumpled form. "Slick." He whispered. She looked up, her silver eyes full of pain, he smiled sympathetically, and placed an arm around her shoulders.  
  
"Slick, what's going on." Jack said his voice even despite his slight anger. She looked away from Sly her eyes adapted a hard look as they looked at him.  
  
"Is there somethin' ya wanna tell us 'bout Chicago?" Spot asked, his voice hard, and cool.  
  
Her gazed shifted to Spot, a slight fear peaked in her, they knew something.  
  
Sly looked between all the other boys and Slick, they were all regarding her with a weird look, that he couldn't quite place, then it dawn on him, they HAD read the article. "You read that article didn't you?" He accused coolly.  
  
Slick's eyes snapped back to Sly, "What article?"  
  
"The article about Snipes' an' Lily's murder in the Chicago pape, the one I have in my bag."  
  
"You have that article?" Raider broke in.  
  
"I had it from the day it came out, I don' get da papes much, but I did that day an' I guess I neva threw it away. I found it crumpled more, and stuffed in my bag when we got back from suppah, I didn' think much of it, but da way yer all actin, I can tell yall read it, didn' ya?" Sly directed his last comment towards the rest of the bunkroom.  
  
"Yeah, we did" Blink said quietly.  
  
Slick's eyes grew to the size of saucers, and her skin paled another couple of shades. "But that means....you think....oh."  
  
"Would ya care ta explain it?" Jack asked.  
  
Slick's eyes were hard, as was her face, she looked at Sly then at Raider, who nodded slightly. Taking a deep breath she began, "Alright, I'm sure that Raider an' Sly 'ave already some what explained to ya that we're part of what's known as The ToC. Am I right?" Nods resounded from all corners of the room. "There are three gangs that make up The ToC, The Hawks, The Sliders, an' The Blades. The three of us were part of The Hawks, our leader was Razz Collins, he took ova when our former leader, Hawk, was killed in a fight."  
  
"A fight with Slider." Sly put in.  
  
"Yeah, a fight with Slider. The Sliders are notorious for their extensive smuggling and underground operations. The Hawks, for their incredible thieving and conning abilities. And The Blades for their unbeatable skill with weapons, but also for their own underground operations an' also thieving and conning, they're a mix, which makes them one of the best."  
  
"An' dese are all teenagers?!" Bumlets cried incredulously.  
  
Raider smirked, "Yeah, the gangs are mainly made of teens, but we often mix with adults ta get our jobs done." There was a brief shifting in the room, which caused both Sly and Slick to smirk as well from their seats on the floor.  
  
"What does dis all hafta do with Slider bein' afta ya?" Jack asked.  
  
Slick looked at him coolly, "Jus chill out an' I'll get there, ya've waited 3 weeks ya can sure wait another couplea minutes." Sly and Raider snickered, they loved it when Slick spoke with such authority to other leaders, they found it amusing, especially when she got the glares back, such as the one she was getting from Jack now. Slick smirked again. "Where was I?"  
  
"Explainin' what we're all good at."  
  
"Oh yeah. Slider an' Blade each run their own namesakes, as I'm sure ya've figured out. The feeling is "to each gang his own" we stick with our own an' avoid the others 'sept when we need ta."  
  
"Yeah, 'sept when it comes ta you an' Blade." Raider muttered. Slick glared at him and Sly sent a warning look to them both, now was NOT the time to be getting into THAT argument.  
  
"Yeah, 'sept when it comes me an' Blade." Slick agreed. Eyebrows raised all around the room. "NOT LIKE THAT!" Slick yelled seeing their thought process, "Blade an' I are good friends, we respect each other." She defended herself. "See, The Hawks aren't quite as strong as when Hawk was the leader, we've kinda split into our gangs inside our main gang. Take me, Sly an' Raider here, we're our own gang, along with Maze an' LT." At the mention of Lil' Thief (LT) a small blush rose in Sly's cheeks. "No way Sly!" Slick cried seeing her friend's look in response to the name of the Irish girl. "You an' LT?! Why didn' ya tell me earlier?"  
  
"Slick, back ta the story, don' embarrass Sly any more." Raider said trying to sound like he was sticking up for his friend if it wouldn't have been contrasted by the grin on his face.  
  
"Alright, spoil my fun." Slick grinned at the boy sitting next to her who was trying to regain his cool outward appearance. "Ok, so as I was sayin' we stay ta our own gangs, when it comes ta that though, it's mainly The Blades an' The Sliders that have the most tension between them since The Blades are a mixed group. The Blades an' The Hawks are on the same side when it comes ta hating The Sliders, but The Hawks hate both The Blades an' The Sliders, The Blades hate us, an' The Sliders couldn' give a shit 'bout us, since we don' usually do business tagetha."  
  
"You jus' said 'us'." Blink broke in quietly, "Ya were associatin' yerself with 'em"  
  
Slick faltered for a second, "Yeah I guess I did, but I've been one of 'em for the past 6 years, it's a hard habit ta break."  
  
"Whose Snake?" Boots suddenly broke in.  
  
"Slider's side-kick an' right hand man." Slick said coldly  
  
"So ya say that Da Sliders couldn' give a shit 'bout ya, but why den is Slider afta ya?" Spot asked studying Slick closely.  
  
Slick's blood ran cold, it wasn't something she really wanted to get into, because it would lead her thoughts back to.....that night.... "Uhm...I messed up some business a his." Both Sly and Raider shifted uncomfortably, which did not go unnoticed.  
  
Spot studied her closer, she was uncomfortable, as where her two Chicago companions, "Care ta elaborate?"  
  
"Not especially." Slick said shifting under the glares she was getting.  
  
Lucky for her, there was a knock on the door a second later, "Uh, come in." Jack said getting to his feet.  
  
The door opened to reveal Kloopman, "Heyya boys, I got anotha one 'ere." He said looking couriously around at the boys sitting around the bunkroom quietly as if listening to a story, he then saw Slick sitting on the floor, "How ya feelin' Slick?"  
  
"Good, thanks."  
  
"Anotha one Kloppman?" Jack broke in, earning an annoyed glare from Slick.  
  
"Yeah." Kloppman turned and motioned for someone behind him to come forward.  
  
If Sly wouldn't have reached out and grabbed Slick's arm as fast as he did, the figure framed in the doorway would have been dead quicker than the eye could see. "YOU!!" She screamed, trying to break from Sly's grip, but was only held back more as Raider raced over to grab her other arm.  
  
"Heyya Brooklyn, Sly, Raider, how's it goin'?"  
  
******************  
  
§ sHoUt OuTs §  
  
CHACHI: Thanx! An' yeah I will keep e-mailin ya if it keeps ya comin back I'll do jus 'bout anythin'  
  
RAIDER: Cliffy's are a BLAST to write! An' I know I'm bein hard on all the Newsies, ::races around hugging them all!:: but I'm afraid their surprises ain't ova yet!  
  
KTSTAR: My fav. Reviewer!! Ya get anotha prize for comin back AGAIN!!! An' like I said ta Raider, I'm sorry for bein hard on the Newsies!!  
  
TIGER: Yeah I know I'm a poopy head again...  
  
STRIPES MCKEE: So how are Cliff Hanger and Slick Floor doin this time?! LOLOL  
  
SPLASH: Me LOVE caffeine!! An' yes I KNOW I'm being mean to all the Newsies, but.....but...uhm... it works so well in the story!! I SORRY!  
  
RUMOR: Slick's doin' some 'splanin', but the rest WILL come, me PROMISE!! An' sry ta say, yer jus gonna hafta wait for more scerets!! I hope ya got the Snipes thing, but if ya didn' well I'll 'splain eventually!!  
  
WILLOW: I know, Slider and Snake are REALLY cruel, an' sry ta say, you don' know the half of it yet!! Blink an' Slick? Nah, I thought about it once upon a time, but yeah they make better friends than a couple. I know, I kinda like Slick as her own person, not having to rely on anyone else, and that includes boyfriends (and girlfriends) and yes, as I'm sure you figured, Lil' Thief or LT is a girl Chicago Hawk member. The other 4 I named are guy.  
  
STYMIE: I take that as a complement!!! I did review more on "Unless.." It's really good! I want you to keep it up, an' if ya do, I'll keep this story up k?  
  
EMU:!! My fellow Iowan!!! How's it goin!? Sry, it's still strange to think we live in the same state, even if that state happens to suck ass, anyway....THANK YOU!!!  
  
SPLASH #2: Thank ya!  
  
PURE-PRINCESS888: I LOVE holding peoples in suspense!!! It's soooooo much fun!! Here's yer update, next one will hopefully be soon!!  
  
  
  
***********  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: An' here is PART TWO!!!  
  
PART TWO:  
  
"What are you doing here?!" Slick screamed again.  
  
"Jus' comin in ta check on yall an' oh, is that poor Snipes?" Came the mocking voice of a tall dark-hair and eyed boy. The last comment caused the rest of the bunkroom to look at the stranger with more contempt. "Slider would be 'ere ta do it himself, but I'm afraid 'e's still in some pain."  
  
"Good." Slick spat, still pulling at her restraints.  
  
"Such a tempah Brooklyn, one wouldda thought ya woulda learned."  
  
"Me? Lose my tempah, yeah right. 'Ave ya so innocently informed the cops yet?"  
  
"Nah, thought I'd leave that 'till mornin', I was hoping ta leave a body ta go with my story, but since yer lil' Snipes is back 'ere I may jus hafta go work someone else ova."  
  
"That was low, beatin' up Snipes, Snake."  
  
Snake smirked. "I don' think so, I jus wanted ta remind ya of yer last night in Chicago."  
  
"If ya wanted ta revisit that night, why didn' ya jus' ask me ta beat ya ta bloody 'ell again Justin?"  
  
Snake's face darkened at the mention of his real name. "That part of the night was an accident."  
  
"Only cause ya didn' have enough bodyguards."  
  
"I will remind ya Brooklyn, that what happened ta Snipes an' Lily, could easily happen again, Slider's not gonna forget last night or any other that involves you, he's on a blood mission Brooklyn, an' it's yer blood he wants 'e won' rest 'til he gets it." With having the final word, Snake turned and strode from the room.  
  
As soon as the door was safely shut, Sly and Raider released their iron wrought grips on Slick's arm, she jumped towards the door, and ran into Jack and Spot. "What was that all about?" Jack asked slowly, holding a shaking Slick in his arms.  
  
Slick pulled back and went back to her place on the floor beside Sly and Raider, who each put a protective arm around their friend and associate leader. Slick looked back up at Jack and Spot who walked back to the bunk they were previously sitting on. She sighed, getting into the memories of that night were painful.  
  
"They deserve to know, especially after Snake's comment, we both know, as does Sly, they wont jus' walk away with out hurting you more, an' they have all these weapons to use against ya." Raider said quietly looking around at all the Newsies.  
  
Slick nodded and started back in, "I said that we, uh, mainly I messed up some business with Slider an' his gang. It was an underground op., smuggling actually, I got a Job, a con, I wont go into what the smuggle was, but my employer had an enemy who was a regular of Slider's, it was my job to get what was smuggled to my employer's enemy back to my employer. Unfortunately, thing didn' go so smoothly, an' a couple of Slider's guys were shot down, along with a couple of his regular's and a couple of my employer's. Slider ain't stupid, he knew there was someone workin' on the inside ta get the Job as far a long as it'd come, he made a couplea inquiries an' discovered I was one a the people behind the Job. Things started ta get ugly from there, since we didn' have a nice relationship ta start with, in fact, we'd messed up business with each other in the past. But for him, he decided ta get rid a me." Slick stopped for a second, and closed her eyes tightly.  
  
"What 'appened?" Mush asked  
  
Slick looked at Mush an' gave a sad smile. "Slider don' jus' go after you, 'specially if he really hates ya, 'e goes afta yer family, 'e was smart enough ta stay away from most of the Hawks, knowing, he didn' wanna start a full fledged gang war."  
  
"Family, da Hawks?" Itey looked at Slick confused.  
  
"Yeah, dese guys 'ere are like yer family ain't they?" Slick asked the curly-hared boy. Itey nodded, "The Hawks were all I had in Chicago, it was mainly me, Sly, Raider, LT, Maze, Snipes an' Lily, they were my family. Sly, Raids, LT, Maze an' Snipes an' me were a gang, an' ya could prolly say I was they're leadah." Slick looked at Raider for confirmation, he gave it nodding. "Yeah, Lily was Snipes' girl, we all loved her, she was street hardened but also a real friend, 'specially when we needed it, she wasn' a true Hawk, but ya couldda fooled most a the otha Hawks inta thinkin she was."  
  
"She was a real sweet goil." Sly said quietly, "It ain't the same without her."  
  
"But that article said you killed Logan Snipes an' Lily Morgan." Snitch broke in, his confusion was agreed to by everyone else.  
  
"It said, 'eyewitness identified' me, but 'eyewitness' was Slider. But that's getting ahead a lil', Slider an' I got into a fight before the night they were murdered, two nights actually, that was when he had me beat enough ta mark me. See markin' is a big thing, each gang member has their own special mark that they mark on either buildings or poles when they claim it as theirs or on a person when they've beaten them, a person's left arm, it shows weakness."  
  
"What's yer mark look like?" Skittery asked  
  
Slick smirked, and untied the black bandanna that still covered her hair, she flipped it over to reveal her mark, the hieroglyphic and flame, in blood. Respect shown in Sly and Raider's eyes as they looked at it, also remembering when it was a symbol of power and fear.  
  
"Whoa." Skitts said, his question answered.  
  
"I managed ta mark Slider last night, an' repay him for this." Slick said touching her left arm tenderly as two pairs of Chicagoan eyes turned to her in surprise and even more respect. "Two nights later, I was out working in the streets when I was found by a number of Slider goons, they took me to a deserted area, an' it only took me a minute ta figure out why. Slider had kidnapped Snipes an' Lily. He had them there, I pleaded with him ta let them go." Tears were falling silently from Slick's eyes, "He wouldn't he told me that this was only the beginning of the torment he would put me through for screwing up one of his biggest ops. He had his goons hold me there, so many of them, I couldn't have possibly escaped. An' he an' Snake killed 'em both. He made me watch him an' Snake kill my friends, listen to their screams, listen to Lily beg for mercy, listen to Logan plead jus' ta let Lil go. He made me watch an' listen to it all as he slowly killed them."  
  
Slick's voice broke, she couldn't look at her friends her gazed was fixed on the floor. "Slider placed their bodies in an alley offa Main lata that night, an' made it look like that was were it 'appened. I managed ta break away an' I jumped Snake, an' beat 'im almost ta death, the bastard shouldda been dead. Slider found 'im, an' went ta the cops ta tell 'im 'bout the murder an' the beatin, it was jus' another spice he could add to his work, he blamed it all on me. He went in diguise an' used a real name jus' ta make 'is story more believable, an' who wouldn' 'ave believed 'im? He was blamin' a ToC, an' one who had a record in the first place. So I ran, I left Chicago an' came back 'ere." Slick stopped an' finally looked up at the rest of the room, they were all regarding her in complete shock.  
  
"Wow." Race breathed.  
  
Slick looked at Jack an' Spot to see their reactions, she couldn't bring herself to look at Blink just yet. "'Ave ya eva killed someone though Slick?" Blink asked quietly almost dreading the answer to come.  
  
Slick faltered for a moment and glanced at Sly and Raider, who looked just as uncomfortable as she felt, "Yeah."  
  
Before anyone else could say a word, the bunk door opened again to reveal Kloppman, "'Ey! All youse, in bed, lights out now, youse still gotta getup in da mornin'!" No arguments were made as everyone climbed into bed in record time and quietness.  
  
Blink couldn't sleep, too many thoughts were running through his mind, mostly about Slick and the quick view of her past she had just shared. It pained him to think of her going through it all, yet it was painful to think of how she kept it from everyone. He glanced over to the bottom bunk in the bunk beside his, Slick's bunk, just for a glimpse of his friend. It was empty.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: WOW, That's the end of Chap. 11 folks. So what didja think? I got one more chap ta go before I'm at a short stand still for this, read my next authors note and make sure ta tell me what ya think. Thank you all so much for reviewing. It makes my day jus that much better! 


	12. Time For Another Change Of Scene

Chapter 12-Time For Another Change Of Scene  
  
Slick couldn't stay in Manhattan or Brooklyn, at least not as long as Slider and Snake were out there looking for her, she knew that. And though it pained her to do it, she knew she had to do what she was best at for the safety of her friends. It was time for another change of scene. With the hope that someday they would forgive her, she snuck out, possessions and all, and ran.  
  
************  
  
Blink stared at the empty bed, he did his best to try and imagine Slick's sleeping form in it, but it was no use. "So she left." A quiet voice said breaking the sleeping silence.  
  
Blink looked up, in the bunk across from Jack he saw a figure sitting up and staring too at the bed vacated by Slick. "Will she be back?" He whispered, his eyes returning to the bed.  
  
"Not likely, but, all in all it's good she left."  
  
Sighing, Blink looked up at the open window and the city beyond, "I's gonna miss 'er Sly."  
  
Sly nodded, "Me too." He whispered before lying back down. It was good she'd left, they didn't need a repeat of that spring night, Slick was doing the right thing, he wished his best for her, and hoped he'd see her again someday.  
  
***********  
  
Slick didn't know how long she'd been running, streets and boroughs had run together in her mind, all she knew was that she had to get away from Manhattan and Brooklyn. She had vague memories of crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, but it was now near dawn, and she figured she was far away from there. Cuts from her fight with Slider started bleeding again, and her pain was doubled, there was no way she could keep this up. Slowing down Slick struggled to remain on her feet, the pain was white-hot in its intensity. A figure suddenly pushed by her, causing her to lose her balance and fall, the last thought that went through her mind, was her amplified head pain as her head came in rapid contact with the concrete. Then all was black as she fell once again into blissful unconsciousness.  
  
***********  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I haven't decided weither or not to end this here and start a sequel or to continue, I have a few ideas for what to happen next, but yer opinion an' ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all so much for reading this story thus far! 


	13. A New Beginning?

Chapter 13- A New Beginning?  
  
Slick woke to a curious feminine face staring at her. "You ok?"  
  
Her head spun, it hurt something serious too. "I'm not sure. Where am I?" Dark eyes looked worriedly at into Slick's own, "Uhm...yer in New York, on da edge Queen's if ya wanna be more specific."  
  
Slick sighed, and sat up, quickly regretting the decision, as her head yelled out in pain, and escaping out her mouth.  
  
"What 'appened to ya?"  
  
"Long story." Slick said quietly.  
  
The girl smiled, "I undastand. Me name's Katz by the way, what's yers?"  
  
Slick smiled back weakly, "Slick."  
  
Katz laughed, "You onea those Newsies?"  
  
Slick's face dropped its smile, "I was. Not any more though." Katz sat down beside Slick  
  
"So, if ya ain't a newsie no more, what ya plannin' on doin'?"  
  
"I dunno." Slick dropped her head to her hands, all she had known last night was that she needed to get away from Blink, Spot, Jack and all the others she loved so much. But now, she had no idea what to do.  
  
"Ya could woik with me, I mean it ain't the most glamorous job in the Woild, but it makes good money an' ya meet lotsa guys." Katz offered. Using her offhanded humor to get a smile back on the girl's face at her last comment.  
  
"An' what would that be?"  
  
"I's a waitress an' bartentah at a bar jus' inside Brooklyn."  
  
Slick hesitated, Brooklyn, that meant Spot Conlon, but she needed a new job, and she could easily hide from Spot if the occasion called for it, "Uhm....ok, I guess anyway."  
  
Katz grinned and jumped to her feet, "Great! I could take ya ta there right now, common!" Slick was a little taken aback at the girl's enthusiasm, but she grinned in spite of herself, and grabbed the hand held out to help her up. "Ya know, nothin' against the newsies or nothin' but ya can't exactly go by Slick, especially since all the girls woikin' there know the newsies from both Manhattan an' Brooklyn, they'd be all ova ya with questions if the found out ya knew 'em. So ya got any otha name ya could go by, a real name or somthin?"  
  
"Sierra." Slick said after a moment, Sierra was her real name, known only by a fortunate few.  
  
"Sierra it is." Katz said grinning.  
  
Slick smiled, following Katz cautiously back onto the fringes of Brooklyn. This definitely seemed like a new beginning.  
  
**********************  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: All right, I've finally decided, this is the end of "JUST A CHANGE OF SCENE." But don' worry, a sequel is going to follow, it will probably be called, "A NEW BEGINNING?" jus' like the name of this chapter. Thank you ALL so much for reviewing this story it really means a lot to me!!!!!  
  
§ SHOUT OUTS §  
  
KtStar, Raider, Rumor, Chachi, Splash, Irish Fury, an' Emu-THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STICKING THIS THING OUT 'TIL THE END!!! 


	14. AUTHOR'S CAST CALL

Author's Casting Call.......  
  
Ok, so I know that I'm supposed to be writing "A New Beginning?" to continue this story, but I have one li'l problem....I NEED MORE CHARACTERS!!!! So if you are interesting in being in my next story PLEASE send me an e-mail, or leave me a note w/ info about your character (i.e. looks, character traits, li'l bit of history) so I can incorporate you in, cause I'm in dire need of more people! Oh, an' if ya want one of the newsies to be your boyfriend or w/e let me know who.Spot IS taken, sry. But everyone else including Sly an' Raider are available. Thanx so much in advance, yer all wicked awesome!  
  
§ SLICK § 


End file.
